Underdog
by idkaname
Summary: Emily Fredricks, a kickboxer, has sought revenge for her friend's death at the hands of the Foot. When she is attacked by the Foot one night, the not-so-teenage turtles step in to help. But will emotions, hate or otherwise, get in the way? movie version
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: We don't own anything TMNT related. So back off.**

**AN: This is based on the movies, live action and animated; but not the TV shows or comics.**

The loud thuds echoed around the whole gym over the boisterous shouts of the crowd. Then they all stopped. There was silence for a split second before a final thud was emitted from the ring in the center of the gym. Then over three quarters of the crowd began to cheer and shout and clap. The referee came to the center of the ring, and took the hand of the only woman left standing, and raised it above her head. "And the winner is, Emily 'Lightning Strike' Fredricks!"

The woman kept her hand up after the referee dropped his. Her red uniform top was dotted with the sweat that was running from her brow. "That was for Austin!" she shouted into the crowd. Only a few of the people knew who she was talking about, but she didn't care. Emily said that every time she won a kickboxing match, which was every time she fought.

After a few minutes of congratulations and pictures, Emily made her way into the locker room with her coach, Mr. Potter. "You did a good job out there, kid."

"How long did it take me?" she panted as she pulled of her head gear. Her sweat dampened, dark brown hair was already ninety percent out of its short ponytail, so she just pulled the rubber-band out too.

"One and a half rounds on the nose." He told her as he pulled of her gloves and set them on the bench.

"Not good enough." Emily cursed at herself. Her goal was less than one round. Since she only had a week to reach that goal before the fight that she had waited the past five years of her life for. She quickly pulled off her hand-wraps and brought one hand to just below her eye. When she pulled her finger away, it was covered with blood. "Dang, the girl got a cut in."

"It's not bad. Just go and wash it off." Mr. Potter told her. "Em, are you going to be staying here tonight, or are you going home?"

"I'll go home." Emily called from the sink on the other side of the room. "Dad's probably already asleep." Emily came back and opened her locker with a little more force than necessary, sending it crashing into the locker next to it. She pulled out her shirt, a worn 3 Doors Down concert shirt, and grey hoodie. She never bothered with street pants on the day of matches; her uniform pants were comfy enough.

"You're beat up enough, Em. No need to push it. And you know Amy and I always have a place for you here. And Alex loves to talk to you. So don't go starting with the 'I'm imposing on your family' routine." Mr. Potter cut off two of her avenues of escape.

"Mr. Potter, I'll be perfectly fine at home. Like I said, Dad's probably already asleep. And if he isn't, I can just go in the window." Emily smiled at her memories of climbing in her bedroom window from the fire escape. Only in Manhattan would a girl have to break into her own house to get home at night.

"Alright, alright. But remember that practice will be pushed back an hour tomorrow." Mr. Potter reminded Emily as she put her gear back into her locker.

"Got it. See you tomorrow, Mr. Potter." She smiled at the man who took care of her most of the time before she turned and walked out of the locker room and gym.

It was about a fifteen minute walk from the gym to Emily's house, and she was in no hurry to get home, so she took her time. She walked through the spider web of alleys through the city that probably led to every inhabited nook and cranny. As she passed by the west side pizzeria, she heard a loud crash in the alley ahead of her. At her sides, her hands clenched into fists that could break bone. When she heard the sound again, she stopped in the middle of a pool of life from a streetlamp.

As she swiveled around to look all over the alley, five figures walked out of the shadows and into the edge of the light. "Hello, Ms. Fredricks." Said the man who led the group. Most of his face was covered by a black mask.

"Foot." Emily spat. "What do you want from me?" she shouted, tightening her fists.

"We came to warn you." He replied smoothly

"Yeah, just like you warned Austin. Fat lot of good that did him." Emily hissed back, tightening her hands even more. A trickle of crimson blood began to run down her fingers and hit the ground softly.

"Yes, it is the same warning. We _suggest_ that you lose the fight next week to Ms. Aneko. We don't _want _to _hurt_ you, and the offer to you to join us is still on the table." The man walked closer, not realizing how short a fuse he was working with; and that fuse had just reached the detonator of Emily's temper.

"Never." She growled and launched herself at the man.

On a roof top a block away, four shadowy figures hopped onto the fire escape. "Look at that guy hold his own." The one with the purple bandana said.

"You're right, Don. That's one guy against five Foot agents. Sure they're not the ninja's but that's still impressive." The one with the blue bandana nodded.

"I think we should help him, Leo." The one spinning a set of nunchakus said.

"No, Mickey." Leo sighed. "We can't let ourselves be seen."

"But we can't let that guy get the crap beat out of him by the Foot either!" accused the last shape, the one with a red bandana.

"Raph's right." Don said, backing up his older brother.

"Fine. But if we end up in the tabloids, I'm blaming you two." Leo warned.

"Deal." The other three said in unison. They hadn't had a good fight in almost a week. April had finally given them this lead, something about a kickboxing match being rigged.

So the four turtles leaped off the fire escape and rushed down the alley to help fight the group of Foot members. When they came into view, the leader of the group stopped his charge on Emily and turned to face the brothers. "The freaks are here." He announced to his followers.

Emily didn't look up from her opponent. She was also having a bit too much fun dropping the fighters like flies, but then they kept getting back up. The tall man who she was currently fighting threw a right haymaker at her head. Bad idea. She blocked and trapped his arm and then hooked her other arm around his, then she threw him over her hip and sent him flying five feet and into the wall of the alley.

But as she turned back around to take on the next man, he kicked her across the face. As she stumbled backwards, her hood fell down. When she walked back into the light with her fists raised in an angry fighting stance, the brothers saw their mistake; the man they were going to help was actually a young woman.

"Men, I think it's time we made our exit." The leader called to his men.

"Oh, no you don't." Emily snarled as she rushed him. He threw a punch, but she ducked and rammed her shoulder into his gut. He stumbled backwards and fell in the alley a few feet away. Unbeknownst to Emily, Mickey went off to make sure he stayed down for a bit. But then she was caught from behind by one of the others and held in a choke hold. She was so much smaller than the other that she was actually off the ground and flailing her legs around.

Raph interceded on her behalf, but not before her oxygen supply ran out. He swept the man who was choking her, sending him to the ground on his back. The man's instincts kicked in has he let go of Emily's neck and shot his arms out to break his fall. Raph grabbed Emily before she too fell and was left open to the man again. "Get the others." He told the others, pointing towards the three remaining men who were now advancing on them.

"You take care of her." Leo told his second in command as he drew his katanas.

"I'll meet you in the lair." Raph told him as he hefted Emily into his arms. She was very light to him, so he was able to make his way quickly back through the alley and to the manhole. Dropping into the sewer, he wasted little time in taking off running along them to get home. He knew the sewers as well as Emily knew the alleys.

Ten minutes later, Emily slowly opened her eyes. Her head was pounding, her neck was sore, and she was lying on something springy. That was all she knew, since her vision was still clearing. Remembering that the last thing that had happened to her was being attacked by the Foot, she willed herself to wake up faster and defend herself. That helped a little.

Her vision was still blurry when she found that she was able to move. She swung her legs around, placing her feet on the ground.

"She's awake!" she heard someone shout. Through the haze that still clouded her mind, it sounded like a woman.

"Let's see if she reacts any better than you did, April." Emily heard another voice laugh. It was deeper, obviously a man, but it sounded young.

"I'm not going over there." Said another male voice. It was deeper, older, than the first. It also came from farther behind Emily.

"I'll do it, I'll do it." The woman said. Her voice seemed to be getting closer to Emily as she spoke. Emily's vision cleared just in time to see a woman with curly red hair and blue grey eyes. Her pale face was dotted with a few freckles on her cheek bones. "How are you feeling?" she asked Emily.

"Fine." Emily said quickly. "Who are you? Where am I?" Emily looked around where she was. She was what looked to be a shabbily furnished living room; behind her was a small kitchen. There was a hallway to her left and a flight of steel steps leading to another hallway to her right.

"My name in April and you're someplace safe." She patted Emily's shoulder. "Now, what's your name?"

"Emily." She said, still looking around. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something flash to her left. Looking back into the shadow of the hallway, she saw a darker shadow than the surrounding area. The shadow was twirling something in its hand. Emily tried to stand up, but her knees gave out and she fell towards the floor. But April caught her elbows and set her back on the couch. "Thanks." April nodded, glancing over at where she knew Mickey was hiding. That was where Emily had turned towards. "Who's standing over there?" Emily asked.

"He's a friend, so don't worry." April covered, not wanting to reveal the Turtles. She preferred just to get Emily out of there.

"How did I get here? The last thing I remember is getting choked out by a Foot fighter." Emily absently rubbed her neck where she was pretty sure there would be a bruise the next day.

"A few friends of mine saw you, helped you out, and brought you back here." April was trying to skirt around the truth, and she just hoped that Emily was still too far out of it to notice.

"Who are these friends of yours?" Emily asked, not as out of it as April had hoped.

"Promise not to scream?" a man with shaggy black hair called from Emily's right. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Casey," April warned. "Are you sure this is the best idea." Casey only nodded.

"I won't scream." Emily told them, wondering why they would ask that of her.

"Alright." Casey pushed himself off the wall. "Hey, Mickey, come on out; and bring Don with you." He called across the room, to the hallway where Emily had seen the shadow.

"We're coming." The first male voice Emily had heard called back. There were the sounds of a slight scuffle before two figures walked into the light of the main room. They were both around the six foot range, but the one in front with the orange bandana was a bit smaller than the one with the purple bandana he dragged behind him. But the thing that struck Emily the most was that they were giant turtles. And one of them just spoke. She didn't scream, like she said she wouldn't, but her eyes widened and her mouth popped open. "Hello there. My name's Mickey. And this here," he shoved the other turtle in front of him. "is my brother, Don. We're two of the ones that got you out of the alley."

"Two of?" Emily gasped, realizing that this meant that there were more of the turtle things.

"Yeah, the others are either upstairs or in the training room. Hey, Case, can you go check upstairs? I'll go look in the training room." Don said as he turned and sprinted back down the hallway from which he had come. He wanted to get away from the ridicule that would probably be coming from the human.

"So, what's your name?" Mickey asked as he walked over to April and Emily. April shook her head at Mickey's approach, but he saw that Emily had gotten over her initial shock and was just looking at him with her head cocked to one side out of curiosity and confusion. He was glad that she at least wasn't screaming yet.

"Emily." She answered. "I don't mean any offense or anything; but what _are_ you?"

"None taken." Mickey chuckled as he sat down on the couch next to Emily. "I'm probably exactly what you think I am. In other words I'm a giant, walking, talking turtle."

"Cool." That was all Emily could say. "So, you and your brothers saved me? How did you save me? How many of you are there?"

She would have continued, but Mickey held up his hand to stop her. "Whoa, hold up. That's a lot of questions as it is, so let me answer those first before you ask any more."Emily nodded her head and kept her mouth shut. "Yes, my brothers and I saved you. Well actually Raph saved you, but we took care of the other guys still standing. After I finish explaining all of this, I need to ask you where you learned to fight like that. But back to _your_ questions. We fought them off, just like you were doing. Only we used our super ninja training!" Mickey cried happily and struck an exaggerated pose on the couch.

Emily burst out laughing and clutched her still sore ribs. "It… hurts… to… laugh…" she gasped in between fits of laughter.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't think those Foot guys beat you up that bad before we stepped in." Mickey dropped his pose and really looked Emily over for the first time. Her dark brown hair that touched the tops of her shoulders was as straight as an arrow, very different from April. Her skin has tanned and taught against her face, mainly her small chin and high cheek bones. On one of her cheek bones was a recent cut, surrounded by a bit of dried blood. Her eyes were a soft blue that was kind and piercing at the same time. There were several small scars all around her face, making Mickey wonder if she often got into trouble. Glancing down at her hands, he saw five very recent puncture marks. He smirked a little when he figured that she had cut her palms with her fingernails trying not to fight. He knew that he had done that before, so it didn't surprise him. Her grey hoodie was loose, and so were her black pants with a red strip running down the outside.

"It wasn't those Foot fighters. I had a match tonight and got my ribs bruised a bit." Mickey raised an eye ridge when Emily had said that she had had a match. "A kickboxing match. That's where I got this, too." She touched the cut on her cheek.

"You're a kick-boxer?" Mickey asked, looking again at her small frame. Raph had said that she was as light as anything.

"Yep. And a good one, too. I'm undefeated in the ring, even after eight years. That's one of the reasons I got into that fight tonight with those thugs. They came to 'warn' me that bad things would happen if I beat their fighter next week. But I still plan to beat her in less than one round; just like Austin did in his match five years ago." Emily's eyes got a far away gaze in them, like she was remembering something that happened a long time ago. Which she was.

April, who had remained silent throughout the conversation piped up. "Austin, as in Austin Park?" Emily snapped her head around to April, but nodded. Before Emily could ask how he knew Austin, April began talking. "I used to be a news reporter. I'm the one who covered his death."

Emily nodded and leaned back against the couch. "Austin was my best friend, more like my brother than anything. He got me into kickboxing all those years ago. Then, five years ago next Friday, he challenged a Foot fighter to a match. He won, in less than one round. Before the match, he had been given the same warning that I got tonight. And after the fight, on his way to the parking lot to meet me to go get some pizza, he was beat to death by a gang of Foot soldiers. So now I'm taking on one of their fighters on Friday. And I'm going to beat her in less than one round, too."

"My condolences." Came a new voice from the stairway. Another turtle, about the size as Don, with a blue bandana walked over to the group with Casey behind him. "My name is Leonardo, but you can call me Leo."

"Thank you, Leo." Emily stood form the couch to face him. "And also for helping me in the alley. Mickey told me that you and your brothers saved me."

"You're welcome." Leo smiled slightly. He trusted the human woman, but he was still a little wary of her.

Just then, Don came back in. "Raph's out getting pizza, but Father wanted to talk to the girl."

"Emily." Everyone else corrected together.

Then a large and elderly rat in faded grey robes entered into the room behind Leo. His brown fur was puffing in all directions, and part of his right ear was missing. His entrance was accompanied by the steady thump…thump of his wooden cane. "Greetings, child." He spoke softly.

Things clicked Emily's head rather quickly. "Greetings, Sensei." He bowed towards Splinter from where she was standing.

Splinter chuckled lightly and continued to walk to them. "It is just Splinter, child." Emily nodded and straightened from her bow. "Your name is Emily, correct?"

"Yes, Emily Fredricks." She answered.

Splinter chuckled again as Don and Mickey's eyes widened a bit. "My sons sometimes watch your fights on the television. They marvel at some of your mixes of Kickboxing and ninjitsu. Tell me, did you ever train in ninjitsu?"

"A few years ago, but I was never very good." Emily looked down at the ground, slightly embarrassed by her failure.

"I would not say that around Raphael when he returns, he may challenge you to a sparring match." Splinter tried to imagine who would win in a match like that. They both were strong, fast, observant, and had fiery tempers from what he had heard of Emily.

"Who's Raphael?" she asked.

"I'm Raphael." Came a gruff voice form behind Emily.

She whirled around to face the newcomer. He was a bit darker than his brothers; at least what wasn't covered by his battered trench coat was. In one of his large hands was an equally battered fedora and in the other was a bag full of what looked to be pizza boxes. His face was set into harsh lines, broken only by his red mask. But his caramel eyes were kind, starring curiously at Emily.

**Hello! Both halves of idkaname speaking.**

**So, here it is. If any of you have read our JL fanfic, "There's Someone for Everyone," you might get a sneak peak at what happens. But if you hate spoilers, don't.**

**So, what's up with Em's dad? What will happen between her and the turtles? What about that match coming up? And now, she is associated with the turtles in the eyes of the Foot, so what will that mean for her.**

**Well, find out later.**

**Your reviews are cherished and always replied by one if not both of us.**

**Sincerely,**

**C M + L W = idkanme.**


	2. Chapter 2

Emily walked over to Raph. He was surprised to see that it was completely without fear. When she got near him, about two feet away, she stuck out her hand. "Emily Fredricks. I've been told that I have you to thank, that you saved me from those Foot fighters."

Raph raised an eye-ridge, having heard his two younger brothers talking about her fighting skills. He tucked his fedora under his arm and met her hand. "You're welcome." He answered gruffly. He walked over towards the kitchen to put the pizzas on the table. "And it's Raph."

"Chow time!" Mickey called excitedly from the couch, which he promptly hurdled in his sprint to the kitchen.

Most everyone chuckled as they moved to follow him at a more leisurely pace. All but Emily at least did. She stood where she was, not sure if she was invited to join in our not. "Come on, kid." Casey told her as he passed, grabbing her shoulder to tow her along. "The name's Casey Jones." He stuck out his hand for her to shake. "That pretty lady over there is April O'Neil, you already met the reptilian brothers, and the furry one if their father, Master Splinter. And I hope you like pizza." He joked as they reached the large table that took up most of the small kitchen.

"I don't remember the last time I had pizza." She joked back, snagging a piece of pepperoni pizza from the box.

Mickey gasped and rushed to her side. "Oh however did you survive?" he pretended to be horrorstruck. But he did wonder how the twenty-something could have gone without pizza for awhile.

"Chinese takeout." She explained, promptly taking a bite out of the greasy slice of pizza. Splinter mumbled something derogatory under his breath and walked away to the hallway he had come from. Emily raised an eyebrow as she watched him go.

Leo laughed at his father's reaction and Emily's reaction to that reaction. "He's Japanese." He explained, propping himself on the counter. "So, you're the 'greatest female kick-boxer New York has seen in a decade' am I right?" he even used air quotes to emphasize what he had seen in an article about her.

"Well, if they said Emily 'Lightning Strike' Fredricks, then I am." She shrugged. "But I'm not _that_ good. I just don't go down; because unlike them, I have something other than a bigger pay check to fight for." Raph saw the determined look in her eye and thought it was awfully similar to the one he used to get when he protected the streets as Nightwatcher.

And he knew that spark was dangerous and powerful. He suddenly came up with an idea. "Hey, Emily; if you're so good at fighting, how about you and I do a few rounds in the dojo after this?" he pointed at the table with pizza boxes strewn out over it.

"You're on, Raph." She smirked. She was undefeated, and she had the advantage of a smaller size of five foot eight against the turtle that approached six feet. For her, being smaller was better; for most it was the opposite.

"Be prepared to lose." He warned, pointing his half eaten pizza at her.

She shrugged and returned to her pizza. "So, what do you guys do?" she asked no one in particular.

"Casey and I are archeologists. Well, at least I am; he's the delivery guy. And the guys, Casey included, fight crime topside." April explained, reaching for a second slice of pineapple pizza.

"You mean like Nightwatcher used to?" she had secretly had a small infatuation with Nightwatcher, although she would never admit it to anyone.

Before anyone could mention that the previous vigilante was in the room, Raph interceded to cover up his tracks. "Yeah, sort of." Then he fell silent for the rest of the meal while Emily asked more about them.

"So we know you're a kick-boxer, but do you do anything else?" April asked. In all the interviews she had read about Emily in, they had never asked about her personal life.

"Nope. And all my friends are in the kickboxing business. Well, except Maddie. My friend Madeline Thorold is a model; but boy can she throw a kick." She smiled in memory of when she had been her friend's kickboxing coach. Madeline had been born in Norfolk, but moved to Manhattan two years ago. She wasn't that into kickboxing, but she was a good fighter; with superpowers to boot.

Mickey's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You know Mad…Maddie Thor…Thorold?" he managed to stutter out.

"Yeah. Buy you know who she is?" Madeline didn't see why turtles would take interest in a model.

"He knows who she is, alright. He keeps wishing she would go into underwear modeling or something." Don grumbled as he walked across the room to the refrigerator. "Anyone want a beer?" he asked. Everyone said some form of yes except for Emily, who looked down and remained silent. "Emily, do you want one?"

"No thanks, Don. I don't drink." She mumbled as she dropped her head to hide her pain and sorrow that her eyes surely would have betrayed.

Mickey nearly fell off his chair laughing. "I think we found someone with more morals than Leo!" he cheered. He shut up when Leo came up behind him and smacked him in the head, hard.

Raph saw that it looked like Emily wasn't going to join back into the friendly banter, and he was a bit bored, so he put down his beer can and walked over to her. "How about that match, Emily?"

She nodded and followed him out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the Turtle's training dojo. On one wall was a rack with all of the brother's weapons and their training weapons. Against another were various heavy bags and ground bags. The rest of the room was open space with bamboo matting.

Emily walked over to the corner and pulled off her sweater and shoes, putting them in a pile. She took out her hair tie and fastened her shoulder length dark brown hair into a ponytail. When she turned around, Raph got his first good look at her. She was very thin, about as much as April; but he could see the muscles running up and down her arms. Since she was a kick-boxer, he could only imagine how strong her legs were. Her skin was tan, even though she lived in New York, and marred my scars and bruises.

"Ready to get your butt handed to you on a silver platter?" she joked as she walked past him to the center of the mat.

Raph laughed once without humor. "Are you?" he growled back.

He rushed her and attempted to flying side-kick her in the back of the head, but she heard it coming and ducked, putting her behind him. He lashed out again, this time with a punch to her gut. She blocked it and tried to kick him in the kidney, but hitting his plastron was like hitting a wall. She winced, but threw a second kick to his unshelled thigh, temporarily buckling his knee. He growled slightly at her, but made no move for a third attack.

They circled each other for a few moments until Emily threw a jump round-kick to Raph's head, which he blocked and held onto it. He smirked at her as she struggled to maintain her balance, until finally he jerked her foot and sent her onto the ground. He moved to pin her, but as he dropped down, she kicked him in the jaw; sending him stumbling backwards and giving her enough time to get up. He once again resorted to rushing her, hoping to overwhelm her. But that didn't work. As he threw the punch, Emily blocked to the inside and grabbed his wrist so he couldn't pull away. Then she hooked her arm around the top of his and planted her hips in front of his. Unfortunately for her, Raph knew the move so he grabbed her other shoulder with his free hand. When Emily threw him over her hip, Raph pulled her down and rolled her to the side. This time he pinned her before she could get up.

Going out on a limb, not knowing if it would work, she kneed Raph where most men's weak spot was. His breath whooshed out and he loosened his grip on Emily enough for her to flip them so that she was now on top. She may have been much lighter, but she knew where to put her weight so he couldn't push her off. Raph had returned to his senses by then and was struggling under her to try and throw her off or at roll them over again. Finally he gave up and just glared at her in anger. She just smiled innocently at him back.

After a few moments, she let him up. "I honestly didn't think that move would work." She joked as she stuck out her hand to help him up.

"And why didn't you think it would work?" he slightly growled as he took her hand and hoisted himself up. He was slightly surprised that she was able to keep her balance, even though he weighed probably a good fifty pounds heavier than she did.

She let go of his hand quickly and stared at the ground. "Well, you're a… well you're a giant turtle." She finally spit out.

"Yeah." Raph laughed. "I've known that for twenty-six years. But I'm also a _male _turtle." He shook his head at Emily's partial ignorance. "Want to go another round?"

"I'll just cream you again." She smiled up at him.

"You want me to go and get Fearless in here so you can test your super kickboxing skills on him?" when Emily looked at him like he was crazy, he realized she didn't know whose pet name Fearless was. "Leo, I mean."

"If Leo wants to, I guess." Emily shrugged, internally welcoming the challenge.

"If I want to, what?" Leo asked from the doorway to the dojo.

"Fight her." Raph jerked his thumb sideways at Emily.

Leo shook his head and smiled. "If you beat her that fast don't you think she should maybe step down to someone like Don or Casey? I'll fight her if she wants to but,"

Emily cut him off. "I beat Raph this fast."

"Oh." He whistled and smirked at Raph. "You are losing your touch, little brother. Of course I'll take a shot at you, then." He returned his eyes to Emily as he tried to size her up. Raph walked over to the wall and mumbled something about cheap shots and not being fair before he turned to watch the second match.

Leo was much more patient than his second in command, and was content with just circling Emily, forcing her to make the first move. And she did, she tried to sweep his legs, having learned that aiming for their stomachs would only hurt her. He jumped over the sweep and attempted to hook kick her in the head, but she blocked it and sent him spinning around. She tried to rush him from the back, but he stuck out his foot. It caught her in the stomach and knocked the wind out of her.

Raph winced as she fell back onto the floor. But before Leo could take advantage of it, she rolled backwards and stood up, shaking off the impact. The two returned to just circling each other, not wanting to be the first one to leave themselves open by striking. That was until Emily threw a round kick to Leo's head, which he barely blocked. He shot a kick to her side, which she blocked and scooped. Leo couldn't keep his balance, so he fell onto his back. But he managed to roll Emily past him so that she couldn't take advantage of the turtle caught on his back. Emily couldn't stop her roll, so she ended up skidding into one of the heavy bags and hitting her head pretty hard.

Raph winced again and moved to help her, but she shook her head at him and quickly got back on her feet. The others who were still in the kitchen had heard the bang of Emily hitting the bag, so they came to investigate and see who was beating who. They walked in on Emily cautiously advancing on Leo, who was still struggling to get off of his back.

That's when Splinter came. "Enough." He called calmly to the fighters. "Emily has won the match." The two reacted immediately. Emily dropped her fighting stance and walked over to Leo to help him up. He took her outstretched hand and hoisted himself up, much like Raph had done, but Leo was a little bit lighter. "That is the end of the fighting for today. Emily, it is late, do you need to be returning home?"

The mention of home snapped Emily out of the bliss she had been in since she had woken up. "What time is it?"

"A little after three in the morning." April told her, being the only one with a watch.

"Yeah, I need to get home." She mumbled and moved to get her stuff form the corner.

"Leonardo will escort you home." He added. "And please, feel free to return here anytime you wish." His whiskers pulled up as he smiled up at her. He was glad to see that his sons and their friends had warmed up quickly to Emily, even if some like Don were still a bit wary.

"Thank you." Emily smiled back at the elderly rat, also to the brothers.

Mickey slipped into the dojo from behind Casey to talk to Emily. "How about you stop by later today and we can play video games or something?"

She brightened up her smile for him. "Sure Mickey. I'm ready to go, Leo." Leo nodded and walked past everyone out to the main room. Before she left, she turned to Raph. "You can challenge me to a rematch later, Raph."

"Who says I need to beat you?" he shot back defensively.

Emily shrugged and followed Leo out into the main room and to a door to the left of the stairs. From the outside, it looked like the rest of the bricks that made up the wall of the sewer. But there was a skateboard spray painted onto the door, almost like a marker. Emily followed Leo as he walked quickly along the sewers, keeping track of where they were turning so that she could get back later after practice. After about five minutes, Leo turned to her a little sheepishly. "I almost forgot to ask; were do you live?"

"Cherokee Place and East 80th Street." Emily answered simply. She waved off the fact that he had forgotten to ask her earlier, only hoping that it didn't mean that they had to backtrack.

Which they didn't. They continued down that tunnel and took a few more turns before Leo stopped and pointed at the manhole above their heads. "Now, my brothers and I trust you; but I have to ask you for your discretion to keep our secret safe." He hated to have to say this, to make it seem like Emily was a suspect for betraying them.

"Don't worry about it, Leo. I don't have anyone to tell it to anyways." She joked wryly as she climbed up the ladder. "See ya later!" she called back to the retreating turtle.

"Yeah, see ya." He replied, stopping to wave at her before he continued on his way back to the lair.

Emily pushed the manhole cover out of the way and pulled herself into the alley. From where she was, she could see the fire escape that led to her window. Looking for any Foot, she ran across the street and began to silently climb the fire escape. She finally got to her window, she opened it as quietly as the warped wood was capable of; hoping that her father was asleep.

Unfortunately, he wasn't. "Where ya been?!" he slurred. And he was drunk.

"I've been with friends, Dad." She told him slowly, trying to calm him down. As she was talking, she was covertly moving forward towards her door to shut.

"Ya know what time it is?!" he stumbled towards her and caught himself on the wall.

"Yes, Dad." She told him. "I'm sorry I'm late, but we got lost on the way here." Well, she wasn't lying.

Her father took a few more menacing steps towards her. "So, ya were with a guy!" he shouted.

"Not like that!" she pleaded. She was already sore from the kickboxing match and the run in with the Foot. She _really_ didn't need this tonight.

"Ya been with a guy." He seethed, even angrier now that he thought his daughter was trying to make excuses. He raised his hand and brought it down against her face. Emily didn't even try to block it. She lost her balance and stumbled into the wall, hitting her head again. When she turned back to her father to try and explain, he shouted again. "Ya been with a guy!" he hit her in the side where her ribs were already bruised. Again, Emily didn't try to defend herself.

It continued like that for an hour; Emily's father shouting at her, insulting her, and beating her; and she didn't do anything about it. Finally, he "let her off with a warning" and stumbled to his room on the other side of the apartment. Emily grabbed the windowsill to pull herself off the ground, bleeding and battered.

She managed to limp to the small bathroom attached to her room and looked in the mirror. Her face was bruised from where she had been slapped, and her nose was bleeding profusely down her face. One of her eyes was swollen, her shoulder was bruised, and it felt like her wrist was sprained. Lifting up her shirt, she saw a medley of bruises from her various fights that day, and unfortunately, some of the scars that had come from her father when he still had the beer bottle in his hand when she got home.

She carefully cleaned and dressed as many as her injuries as she could, shrugged out of her clothes, and carefully pulled on her night clothes. Emily stiffly climbed into her small bed and closed her eyes, hoping for sleep and dreams to overtake her and make the pain go away for a few hours.

The next morning, Emily woke up early, not wanting to encounter her father; incase he hadn't slept it all off. She cooked breakfast, pancakes, quickly eating her half and leaving the other on the table for her father when he woke up. She went into her room and grabbed the envelope of money she had been given for winning the fight the night before. Counting out the right amount she put that back in the envelope, leaving the rest in her dresser drawer. Emily rooted around her tiny room for a pen. Finding it, she wrote on the envelope the address of the company that owned the apartment complex. On the front of the envelope, she wrote "Rent for 546."

She grabbed her sweater, pulling it over her head but being mindful of her sore shoulder, and left the apartment, this time out the front door. She hurried down the stairs to the ground floor and walked onto the street towards the gym.

While she walked, she thought about what she would tell the brothers about her new injuries. Kickboxing practice? No, she had too many on her face for that to be true. Another run in with the Foot? No, that would make them worried about something they shouldn't be. So she decided to not bring it up, hoping that they didn't know enough about kickboxing training to realize her injuries were a bit too ruthless for that.

Now she just had to get past Mr. Potter, who had stepped up to the role of her caretaker when Austin died. But she didn't have time then to come up with an excuse because she was already at the doors of the small gym where she had trained since she was a sixteen tear old with issues whose only cure was a long session with a punching bag.

She walked through the gym, getting mixed hellos and congratulations for her victory. Even the woman she beat came up to her and wished her good luck on her fight on Friday, since she was heading back to Albany the next day. Emily waved and mumbled thanks to most of those who spoke to her. Finally she reached the back where the lockers were. And without surprise, Mr. Potter was leaning on the locker next to her. He was smiling until he saw Emily's face and saw all the new bruises.

"Em, what happened to you?" he rushed to her and tilted her chin to get a better look at some of her bruises. He was her coach, caretaker, and medic.

Emily waved and mumbled thanks to most of those who spoke to her. Finally she reached the back where the lockers were. And without surprise, Mr. Potter was leaning on the locker next to her. He was smiling until he saw Emily's face and saw all the new bruises.

"Em, what happened to you?" he rushed to her and tilted her chin to get a better look at some of her bruises. He was her coach, caretaker, and medic.

"Dad." She mumbled, jerking her face away and roughly opening her locker. She grabbed her gear and carefully took off her jacket before shoving that into her lockers.

Mr. Potter saw that Emily's shoulder was wrapped, since she was wearing a grey tank top. "Em, you can't train like this." He sighed, trying to sit her down on the bench.

"I have to." She snapped, quickly wrapping her hands with the long white bands.

Mr. Potter shook his head sadly. Anger and determination were not a good mix in Emily. She was going got get herself killed training for the fight on Friday. And even if she didn't she might wind up dead after the fight. "Emily, Austin wouldn't want you to push yourself too far." He knew bringing up her late friend would knock some sense into her, or at least make her pause and think things through.

"I have to win that fight Mr. Potter!" she stated as strong as she could, but her voice began to break. But before he could call her on it, she ran out of the locker room and into the heavy bag room.

For her four hour session at the gym, Emily punched, kicked, elbowed, and kneed the bag in front of her. In her mind, it became the faces of those she knew in the Foot, the people who had killed Austin. She ignored the burn in her shoulder and the piercing pain in her side. She was as bad as Rocky Balboa, ignoring her pain for one goal, victory.

Too soon for all of her anger to be burned out, it was time for Emily to leave. But at least she was going to see the brothers, and they had a dojo she could continue to train in. She took a quick shower at the gym and grabbed her jacket out of her locker. She never went anywhere without her bulky and too large sweater; it had been Austin's before he died.

So she walked back to her house and dropped into the sewer system to retrace her steps back to the lair. She found the spray painted door easier than she thought she would and knocked on it roughly, wincing when it scraped her knuckles. After only a few seconds, Mickey opened the door with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"You came!" he cried happily and scooped Emily up into a bear hug as he brought her inside, kicking the door shut behind him.

Emily struggled against his grip, but it was useless, so she just dealt with it until he put her down on the couch and plopped down next to her. "You know, Mickey, I was just here twelve hours ago."

"I know." He shrugged. "But I didn't know if we had scared you away or something. We are a bunch of turtles, remember."

He and Emily laughed a bit at his joke. Emily began to realize that the brothers weren't really all that much like turtles. They were a lot like people, only green, with shells, and they only had three fingers and toes.

Mickey got up from the couch and grabbed two of the remote controls to his videogame system and turned it on. He returned to the couch and gave Emily one of the controllers. "You know the game Call of Duty?" he asked her.

"Sort of. But I've never played it." She shrugged. Emily had never been one for videogames or computers. She just liked to hit stuff.

"Well, you won't be able to say that after today." He smirked just before the video game loaded. For most of the day, Mickey and Emily tried to shoot the other down in the video game, all the while squirming, jumping, and shouting at themselves, their characters, or each other on the couch. After a few hours, Don had come in from somewhere in the hallway and took Mickey's spot and beat Emily within a few minutes. Leo came in a bit after that, but he just sat on the couch and laughed whenever one of the players did something stupid. And when Emily was playing, that was rather frequently.

Around seven, Casey came into the lair with a bag of pizza boxes much like Raph had the night before. "Hey Emily." He cheered. "Don't know if April's coming or not." He told her as he walked into the kitchen, Mickey hot on his heels.

Raph came in from the dojo, his skin glistening slightly from the sweat that rolled down it. "Hey, Emily." He greeted her as he rooted around in the refrigerator for a beer. He came out also with a can of soda. "Don forgot about these yesterday." He explained as he handed it to her.

"Thanks, Raph." She smiled and handed him a slice of cheese of pizza. He had eaten three of them the night before.

"You noticed, huh?" he joked, leaning against the counter next to her and beginning to munch on the pizza.

Emily nodded, and in the process noticed for the first time one of the brothers with a weapon. Tucked into Raph's belt were two sais. They glinted slightly in the light above their heads, and they looked like they had been uncharacteristically sharpened. She quickly snatched the one closest to her to examine it closer. Raph went to protest and snatch it back, but Emily held up her hand to stop him. "I'm not a little kid who's going to poke someone's eye out."

She remembered a few of the moves she had learned when she took ninjitsu and she carefully yet quickly spun the sai in her hand, flipping it around her hand a few times before settling it against the inside of her forearm. Only then did she give it back to Raph. "You know how to use these things?" he asked her, holding the sai she had given back to him.

"No. That was just a trick I learned a few years back." She sighed.

"Do you want to learn?" Raph asked.

Emily was so startled by his offer that she just looked at him for a few moments. "Um, maybe after this fight on Friday. Until then, I need to train for my speed in kickboxing."

Raph nodded and replaced the weapon into his belt and reached for another slice of pizza. "How about I give you some pointers for that match? I'm one of the faster fighters here, and only one of two who ever bothered with kickboxing. The other was Casey, but he just hits things and doesn't care how he does it." He smirked over at his friend, who was glaring at him, having heard Raph summary about his fighting.

"Sure." Emily chirped. Raph was a good fighter, that much she knew form experience. And the more help she could get, the easier Friday's fight would be. "Just let me kill this slice." She lifted the piece of cheese pizza that she still had in her hand.

And that's how the whole week went. She would wake up, go to the gym, go to the lair, play video games, train with Raph, and then sneak in the window at home. Thankfully for her, her father was asleep all the other times she came in at night.

Then Thursday came. It was the night before the fight, and Emily had opted out of videogames to go straight to the dojo and practice for the next night. She was mercilessly beating the stuffing out of one of the hanging heavy bags. Her shoulder had healed a few days before and her ribs weren't nearly as bad, so it didn't hurt to go all out.

Raph came in, not expecting Emily to be there yet. He was surprised by the aggression she was putting into her punches and kicks. He walked up beside the bag and saw that her knuckles were red and scraped, some of them even bleeding. But her face, however covered in sweat, looked like she wasn't tired at all. That was when her anger and determination would become dangerous, to herself. "Emily, take a break. You're working too hard; just look at your hands."

Emily shook her head, dislodging a few beads of sweat from her bangs. "Can't…stop…fight's…tomorrow." She panted out.

Raph was suddenly overcome by a rush of anger at the sheer stupidity of the young woman in front of him. So he stepped in front of the bag when she took a brief pause in her onslaught and grabbed her hands to keep her from punching him. "Are you so stupid that you're actually going to fight tomorrow!" he shouted at her.

Emily stood there for a bit, catching her breath. But her anger was growing. "I have to, Raph! They killed Austin!" she shouted right back.

Raph growled low in his throat, trying to keep a hold on his temper. Two lit fuses weren't going to help at all. "And that justifies this _suicide mission_ of yours?"

"If they killed Leo, wouldn't you want some sort of revenge?" Emily snapped. She had seen the way the brothers interacted. Leo and Raph may antagonize each other, but Leo was still his older brother, and they still cared about each other.

Raph glared down at her for turning the situation on him. "Yeah, I would. But Leo's my brother." He pointed out.

"Austin was the closest thing to a family I ever remember having!" Emily shouted, tears starting to prick in her eyes. She didn't understand why this one argument was making her so emotional.

Raph saw the tears in her eyes too. "But what about your dad?" he had heard her comment several times before she would leave the lair at night that she hoped her father asleep by time she got home.

Emily was silent for a few moments and looked at the ground. Raph felt it was safe for him to drop her hands from his grasp, no longer fearing that he would replace the punching bag. Emily finally looked up at Raph. The tears had overflowed and were running down her cheeks. "He's a drunk!" she cried, throwing her hands into the air out of anger and frustration. She was finally letting the truth come out. The only other person who knew the truth about her family was Mr. Potter. "Half the bruises and scars I have aren't from fights, they're from him!" her voice broke and she began to sob. She turned to another bag and began to punch it harder than before, scuffing and cutting her knuckles even worse.

Raph stepped in front of this bag, too, with a sigh. He grabbed her hands again and held them in one while he gently grabbed her chin with the other. "What about this one?" He touched her swollen eye with the tip of his finger.

"Dad." She mumbled. She wanted to wipe away her tears, But Raph had her hands firmly in his.

"What about your mom?" Raph asked. Emily had never mentioned her, but she must have one that helped take care of her.

"She OD'ed when I was ten." Emily sobbed. "That's when Dad turned to the bottle to drink his worries away and I became his punching bag." Emily nearly fell to her knees, but Raph held her up.

"How long has he hurt you like this, Emily?" Raph was now angry at himself for not noticing the bruises, Emily for still wanting to fight, and her father for what he did to his daughter.

"Fourteen years. I'll be twenty-five next summer." Her sobbing had stopped, but the tears still flowed down her face. "You've got to see that this is why I have to do what I can to avenge Austin's death!" she pleaded with Raph.

"Can't you see that it's pointless to waste all that you still have for a small revenge that barely anyone will recognize as being against the Foot!" he wasn't going to cave in, not without a fight.

Emily dropped her eyes to the ground again and Raph released her hands again. She sank silently to the ground and hugged her knees to her chest, crying quietly. "I don't know any other way to stand up for what's right." She whispered. "You and your brothers fight the bad guys on the street; I fight them in the ring." She whispered again, her eyes stared off into space as if remembering something she saw or was told. "I have to go into that ring and fight." Her voice broke and she buried her face into her knees.

Raph looked at the sight before him. The young woman who seemed to have drive and determination was driven by the worst kind of motivation: revenge. And she had never had anyone there to tell her that she was going about it the wrong way. Well, she had people now. He knelt down next to Emily and stroked her hair, finding it soft beneath his fingers. "You really want to get in that ring, don't you?" She nodded wordlessly. "Then listen to me or I'll drag you out of that fight myself." He pulled Emily against his side, needing to comfort her.

She curled into his side, finding the bridge of his plastron surprisingly warm and comfortable. She tried to slow the tears. Raph rested his head Emily's. "Thank you." She whispered.

Raph nodded against her hair. "Now, I'm not worried about the match; I know you'll win that. Maybe even in that outrageous timeframe you set up. But after the fight is when you need to listen to me. Don't do anything to provoke their fighter, got it?" Emily nodded against Raph's chest. She had stopped crying, but she didn't trust her voice not to break. "Then go back to the locker room, and try to get rid of your coach as fast as you can. I'll come in and get you out. The others will be in a side street and we'll meet up with them. Then we're coming straight back here. Any questions?"

"No." she whispered.

"And you're spending the night here. I don't' want you near your dad the night before this fight. You need to be in your best shape tomorrow." He patted her head again.

Surprisingly, Emily didn't' complain. She just leaned into Raph's side and wrapped her arms around Raph's waist. "Thanks you." She spoke for the first time in a while above a whisper. She leaned up and quickly kissed Raph's cheek before setting into his side again. Both were glad that they couldn't see each other's faces, because they both began to blush.

After sitting there for a few minutes, Raph felt Emily's breathing change next to him and she seemed to relax farther. Looking down at her, he saw her eyes shut and her mouth slightly open. Emily was asleep. So Raph carefully picked her up, once again surprised at how light she was, and carried her out of the dojo, through the living room, up the stairs, and to the spare bedroom at the end of the hallway. He juggled her in one arm and pulled back the covers on the small bed with the other. He carefully set her down and pulled the sheets around her. He didn't want to think about how long it had been since she could sleep in peace without having to worry about things like her father.

Raph jogged back down the stairs to fill in his brothers about the deal he had made with Emily, but he left out the private information she had given him, knowing that she would tell the others when she was ready.

The next morning, Emily groggily walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes and trying to flatten out her slightly unruly hair. As she reached the ground, she heard a sizzling coming from the small kitchen along with the smell of bacon and toast. She trudged into the kitchen to find Don cooking breakfast for the six people in the lair. "Morning, Don." Emily smiled. The sleep she had had that night was some of the best she had had in a long time.

"Good morning, Emily." He smiled back and handed her a plate full of food. "We're in on the plan you and Raph came up with yesterday. And let me tell you on behalf of all of us. _Nothing_ will happen to you after the match tonight." He was so sincere and determined that Emily smiled at him again.

She nodded and touched his arm before she sat down at the table. A few minutes later, Leo came down the stairs with Raph right behind him. "Good morning." She greeted them as they too took a plate and sat down at the table.

Raph protectively sat next to her. "How did you sleep, _sleeping beauty_?" he joked.

"Good, thank you." Emily was too happy to be annoyed with Raph's jokes. Leo simply nodded and began to eat his breakfast. Mickey came down a few minutes later and Splinter came in from the lower hallway, greeting each of the young adults sitting around the table

Throughout the day, the turtles told her to take it easy and psych herself up for the match. Which she did, by playing Call of Duty with the brothers, and being subsequently creamed by them. Thankfully for the plans that had been formed, the fight wasn't supposed to begin until after dark, so the turtles could follow Emily topside on the roofs.

So half an hour before the fight, the five young adults set out for the gym, which is where the fight was to be held. Emily could tell that the turtles wee doing a good job watching her, because she could feel their eyes on her, but whenever she looked up, they were out of sight. She got to the gym in record time and hurried to the back locker room where she would spend her time until the fight. Her coach wasn't there yet, so she pocked her head out the window to see if she could talk quickly with the brothers.

Sure enough, Raph and Mickey were right outside the window. "Hey, guys, there's a skylight in the main room just above the wing, so you can watch the fight if you want." They nodded and disappeared back onto the roof.

She didn't know why until her coach came into the room laughing. "Who were talking to out there, kid?"

"Austin." She lied smoothly.

Mr. Potter nodded and handed Emily a package. "Amy made it for you, she thought your old one was getting to small and worn out."

Emily opened the package, pulling out a new uniform top in a leotard style. It was red with a black stripe down the middle. Those colors had been in hers and Austin's uniforms since the beginning. She quickly changed in the bathroom and put on her gear and waited for them to call her name.

Five minutes later, it came. The eleven words that she had been waiting five years of her life for.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in the red corner, Emily 'Lightning Strike' Fredricks!"

**We're back!**

**We don't have much to say except:**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**It's 11:55 here where we are, but some of our readers may already be in 2009.**

**And one of our resolutions is to update sooner, and we will try to stick to that.**

**Sincerely,**

**C M + L W = idkaname**


	3. Chapter 3

"Good luck, Em." Mr. Potter told her as he patted her shoulder.

Emily nodded as she made her way out of the locker room to the ring in the middle of the gym. She nimbly climbed through the ropes onto the mat, the product of years of fighting in the same place. As Emily took her spot in the red corner, she saw the woman who was to be her opponent. She was tall, almost as tall as Mikey, with obvious muscles on her arms and legs that could be seen underneath her tight black uniform with a red dragon foot print on the front. Emily also saw that the other woman was sizing her up; and apparently she had been deemed an insufficient challenge. Because she smiled and began to bounce her weight and throw practice punches. Most of her punches were to where Emily's head would be. That was the reason Emily found being shorter than her competition an advantage, she could get her head low and out of range of fighters who usually went for the head.

Emily looked up at the skylight above her head and saw four green heads with varying colored bandanas and one head covered in a hockey mask that she assumed was Casey. She nodded at the one in red, and he nodded back. She looked back down to her opponent, meeting her steel grey eyes with her sharp blue ones. "It's payback time." She whispered under her breath.

Emily didn't throw practice punches, she didn't bounce around; she just kept her hard and angry stare fixed on her opponents eyes. And her scare tactic was working. The other woman refused to meet her eyes.

To the other woman, Josie Aneko, Emily's small, still, and taught frame was beginning to become daunting. She had watched the tapes of Emily's fights in preparation for this. She had seen how hard and fast the small woman could hit. But she knew that she was superior; she was Foot. And even if she lost, which she knew she wouldn't, Emily would just end up dead like her friend did five years ago.

The referee came into the ring and motioned for the two women to shake hands. Emily stuck out her right glove, but it was never met. The referee continued and listed the rules quickly before retreating to his corner.

The bell sounded.

As soon as the metallic ring hit her ears, Emily was off. She hook-kicked Josie in the head, sending her stumbling back from the sheer force. As soon as she landed, Emily ran after her and started relentlessly punching and kneeing Josie. Not letting off, even when she was getting hit. After a couple shots, Emily got in a hard right liver shot. Josie went down on one knee, using the position to try and grapple Emily's legs. But as she rushed in, Emily brought her foot up into her solar plexus, knocking Josie flat onto her back with no air left in her lungs. Before the referee could get to her, she kicked up and got back onto her feet. Emily quickly glanced at the clock.

Four minutes left.

Emily decided to put some more advanced, decidedly ninjitsu moves into play. She crescent-kicked Josie across the face, spun around, and threw another jump crescent-kick with a fake in front of it to confuse her. Josie was on the ground and struggling to get up. The side of her face was bloodied from Emily's feet-gear cutting her cheek and forehead. She tried to punch Emily in the gut, but she side stepped to the inside and hooked her across the face; sending her to the mat again. Before Josie could stand back up, Emily looked back at the clock.

Two minutes left.

As soon as Josie was back on her feet, Emily relentlessly pounded her again. She took some head shots and liver shots in return, but she kept going. Her sides didn't hurt as bad as they would on most fighters after this much of a beating because of the layers of muscle that made up the entirety of her stomach and abdomen. After a succession of head punches and knees to the gut, Josie was back on the ground. Since it didn't look like she was getting up, the referee started counting. When he got to eight, Josie stood back up; but her stance was barely holding and she kept having to shake her head to focus.

"This is for Austin." Emily growled at her before she launched the finishing move. It was the same move that Austin had used to knock out his opponent. She threw the hardest round kick she could muster to Josie's jaw.

She hit the mat.

And she stayed down.

The referee came out of the corner and held up Emily's glove. "And the winner is, Emily 'Lightning Strike' Fredricks!" he shouted to the crowd.

Emily looked up to the skylight, now seeing only one green head; Raph. He was smiling at her and nodding his head in approval. She smiled and nodded back. She didn't shout her usual "that was for Austin," following Raph's orders not to provoke the Foot. When she left the ring after many photos and questions, she saw out of the corner of her eye that Josie was still out cold in the corner of the gym. And most of the Foot members there were glaring at her. As soon as she made it to the locker room, she turned to Mr. Potter. "Thanks for everything, Mr. Potter." She told him as she hugged him around the neck with all the strength she had left in her sore and tired arms.

"You're welcome, Em." He smiled at her.

"Coach, do you mind if I spend some time alone? You know, cool down, think about things, recollect." She asked him, quickly glancing at the window where she knew Raph would come in. "I can leave when I'm ready to go, I still have the key."

Mr. Potter took off Emily's head-gear and patted her sweat drenched head. "Sure kid. Just stay safe tonight. Promise?"

"Promise." Emily told him as she dropped onto the bench.

As soon as Mr. Potter left the room, Raph opened the window and leapt inside. "You actually pulled that off in less than one round. We're all proud of you. Now, let's get you out of your gear and go meet up with the others."

Emily nodded wordlessly and stuck out her hands for Raph to pull off the Velcro on her gloves. After that she made quick work of shoving her stuff into her locker, grabbing her bag on clothes, and changing in the bathroom. Before Raph helped her out of the window, she pulled on her trusty sweater and grabbed a small backpack and slung it over her shoulders.

"What's that for?" Raph asked, nudging the bag.

Emily shrugged and climbed the fire escape that led to the roof. "Sometimes Mr. Potter has me stay the night here with his family after fights, so I always had a bag with some changes of clothes in my locker. And you told me that you guys aren't going to let me go home tonight."

Raph chuckled and followed behind her to the roof. "Right you are."

Emily landed lightly on the roof, Raph a few seconds behind her. He grabbed her arm gently and pulled her along beside him. The crossed the connected roof of the small neighborhood before they came to a gap across the alley. "Can you make it across, or do we have to go down?" Raph asked her, not joking at all.

Emily leaned over the side of the wall to look down at the five foot expanse that dropped down a good twenty feet. "I can make it." She told him. She took five steps back and ran at the wall, using it as a stepping block, she launched herself across the gap with a dive roll; landing relatively gracefully on the other roof.

Raph nodded at her style and duplicated it, joining her on the other roof. He once again gently grabbed her arm and led her across more connected roofs until he stopped. "The others should be around here somewhere." He told Emily as he walked to a shed on the roof and leaned against it.

Emily followed him and leaned against the wall beside him. "Thanks for everything, Raph." She smiled up at him.

"You're welcome." He smiled slightly down at her and gave her a sideways hug around her shoulders.

Then the other four figures joined them on the roof. Leo was the first to approach the two, who had immediately separated. "We saw some Foot a little over a block back; we need to get Emily into the sewers as fast as possible."

Emily nodded and followed Leo back to the others, Raph behind her. The others were silent, standing in different levels of impatience. Casey patted her shoulder before he jumped down silently onto the fire escape below. The others followed behind him and walked to the middle of the alley where there was an open manhole waiting for them. Raph was the last to go down, and he shut the manhole behind him.

The six were plunged into darkness. And Emily didn't know her way around the sewers like the others did. So she walked around with her arms out in front of her like some zombie movie and tried to listen for the other's footsteps. But there were none. "Raph…" she called into the darkness. She could only hope that he would answer. "Raph!" she shouted this time. She heard the faintest of footsteps behind and turned towards them. "Raph?" she spoke in a normal voice this time.

"Right here." He told her as he grabbed her outstretched hands. Her five fingers fit amazingly well around his three. "Sorry 'bout that. We forgot that you don't have a flashlight."

"Where's yours?" Emily asked him, having not seen a beam of light before he reached out to her.

He began to pull her towards where she could see a few distant beams of light. "Case has it." He told her. That's when Emily realized that she had gone the completely wrong direction down the sewer tunnel.

Soon the two were caught up with the others, who were moving swiftly and silently through the sewers to get back to the lair; which is where they had a surprise waiting for Emily. After five minutes of traveling, they reached the spray painted door. They knocked on it, and it was quickly opened by  
April, who was smiling ear to ear when she saw Emily.

"Guys, get in here fast, they have the show running." She told them excitedly as she grabbed Casey's hand and dragged him into the living room.

On the television, a local news channel, the one April used to work for, was doing a story on the victory. They had even had a camera there that Emily hadn't noticed. April sat Emily down on the couch and Splinter and Raph sat on either side of her. A reporter in a modern and classy suit with a logo pinned to it was standing next to a breathless and smiling Emily.

'Ms. Fredricks, this is your ninetieth consecutive victory in the ring, is it not?'

'Yes, yes it is.'

'Is there anything you contribute your past wins to, and this one tonight; which was your fastest knock out ever at less than one round.'

'My coach, Mr. Potter; he's been with me since the beginning. A dear friend of mine who died five years ago today; he's the one that got me into this whole sport. And a few new friends who are really out there; they helped me prepare for tonight and lots more. And I'll take this chance to say something, because they'll probably never see this, I can't thank you guys enough.'

Emily didn't see the rest of the interview because Mikey picked her up off the couch and spun her around. "It was us you were talking about!" he cried happily. "And you won! You made kicking her butt look easy."

"Was it us you were talking about?" Don asked after his little brother put Emily down.

Emily nodded and smiled at each and every one of the people around her. "Yeah, it was you guys. And I meant it about not being able to thank you enough."

Splinter stood from the couch and walked slowly to stand in front of Emily. "We have something for you, child. It was Casey and Raphael's idea." He added with a light smirk.

"Dad!" Raph whined when Splinter spilled the beans on whose idea it had been.

Casey had disappeared into the hallway and had just come back with a box in his hand. He handed it to Emily and then went to stand beside April, wrapping his hand around her waist. Emily eyed the two suspiciously before she opened the box. Inside, wrapped in newspaper, was a piece of green cloth. Pulling out the cloth, she saw that it was a bandana like the ones the brothers wore. "What's this for?" she asked them.

"You said that the only way you knew how to fight the bad guys was in the ring." Raph told her taking the bandana from her hands and walking behind her. He began to methodically tie a knot in the back, the same knot he had tied for years. "It's 'bout time we changed that."

**We're back!**

**Just a little thing we forgot to put on for chapter 2. Madeline Thorold is a character in our Justice League story, "There's Someone for Everyone." So go read that if you want to find out who the heck we were talking about. But warning, it has some spoilers for this story.**

**Well: the fight is over, Emily won, the Foot hasn't killed her yet, and the guys want her to join the team. So what will happen next?????**

**Questions, comments, concerns? Just shoot us a review and we'll send a reply back so that we don't leave you hanging.**

**Sincerely,**

**C M + L W = idkaname**

**P.S: This is L W. While C M is out of the room, I am covertly attaching this little tidbit of information that some of our readers might find interesting. All the fights that have happened so far in the story have happened to us in real life. The fight against the Foot in chapter 1 was a fight that C M got into at her home school (but she wasn't the one who got choked out), the rounds between Emily and the brothers were random matches between the two of us (including the cheap shot), and the fight in this chapter was C M's USA title fight back in November.**

**Just thought you might find that interesting.**


	4. Chapter 4

"You've got to keep your hands up and keep moving." Raph told Emily as he circled her. The two had been sparring for almost an hour now.

She nodded and blocked a punch that Raph threw at her head. She stepped in towards him and elbowed him in the shoulder.

They went on like that, back and forth, until Emily stumbled and fell onto the bamboo mat. "Alright, Em; that's enough for today." Raph told her as he came over to help her up. He, Leo, and Splinter had been training Emily to fight the Foot with them and to use various weapons for a month. And they still hadn't let her go with them on a mission or patrol.

She got to her feet only with his help. That's when the pain hit her. She clutched her head between her hands and leaned against Raph for support. Unbeknownst to the brothers, her father had gotten a hold of her the night before and most of the blows had been directed to her head.

He grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling and gently eased her to the floor. "Em? Em, are you okay?" he carefully pried her hands away from her head.

"No." she whined and curled into his side. She was too incoherent to notice how much it startled Raph to have her so close. The only time she had ever been as close was when she had told him the truth about her father.

He quickly looked her over and found mo more bruises on her head than normal. "It's your head, right?" Emily nodded. "But you blocked all of my hits to your…" he glared up at the ceiling and briefly tightened his hold around the woman he had sworn to himself to protect. "Emily, did you get into a fight with your father last night?" he was starting to get angry, but he knew he had to keep his temper in check.

"Raph," she sighed, still nursing one of the worst migraines she had ever had.

He growled low in his throat, scooped up Emily, and carried her squirming and complaining to Don's laboratory down the hallway. "Don, can you take a look her head?" he more or less barked.

Don flipped up the goggles he had on his head and rolled his chair next to the cot where Raph had deposited Emily. "Don't tell me you hit her harder than you meant to again." He sighed. Everyone but Raph still didn't know about Emily's father. When he got no answer, he started to examine Emily. Running his finger over her scalp, he found a bump behind her ear, usually covered by her hair. "Somebody has a concussion." He told them. "Go get some ice from the freezer, and try to stay horizontal for awhile." He told her quickly before wheeling back to his work he had been finishing before Raph had barged in.

Raph moved to pick Emily up again, but she shot him a glare that could have frozen boiling water. She eased herself off the cot and started walking to the kitchen, concentrating on keeping herself vertical and her feet moving in the right direction. But the pain in her head got to be too bad and she had to sit down against the wall. "Come on," Raph urged her, sitting down next to her. "Let's get you upstairs." He carefully picked her up again and carried her to the room that the brothers had designated as hers at the end of the hallway. Over the past month, she had spent at least two nights a week with them, so they just officially made the guest room hers. After climbing the steel steps and entering her room, he set her down gently on her bed and turned to walk out the door to get her some ice.

"Raph, you don't have to do this." She sighed from the bed.

He looked down at her and was once again struck by his need to protect the person who never had the chance to be protected. "Yes I do." He quickly went back down the stairs, retrieved some ice and a towel, and brought it back to Emily.

As he climbed back down the stairs to go back into the training room, Splinter was waiting for him in the living room. "She is a good influence on you. Only once since she has come have I seen you lose your temper, Raphael. And she was able to help you control it." He smiled, his whiskers pulling up. "And you keep her safe. I have seen the way you act with her. You have taken it upon yourself to protect her from everything." He nodded. "But some things are out of your power where you stand, Raphael." Splinter walked up to his second oldest son and reached up to place a paw on his shoulder.

"I don't understand what you mean, Father." He said solemnly. But Raph knew. He just didn't know how Splinter knew.

The old rat chuckled and patted Raph's shoulder. "I am not that deaf, my son. And the bruises on Emily grow worse when she comes back from her home. She never talks about her family. And you always become upset when you see her come more injured than when she left, even though she is in a physical profession."

"Don't tell the others." Raph asked him for Emily's sake. "She'll tell them when she's ready."

"Of course, my son." He promised; amazed at how much one human woman had changed his usually aggressive and defiant son.

Emily slept for most of that day and the next, not waking up until around noon. When she finally trudged down the metal stairs, Don was waiting for her. Trying to avoid him, since she knew he would ask questions about what had happened to her, she walked into the kitchen to try and find a soda in the refrigerator. But he would have none of that.

Following her, he leaned against the counter as she opened the refrigerator door. "I know it wasn't Raph that hit you in the head." He declared, hitting home right of the bat. "And it wasn't kickboxing either, because you wear head-gear in that."

"Then what do you suggest it was, Sherlock?" she snapped, grabbing the soda and turning back to the stairs.

But Don stopped her. Grabbing her arm, he spun her back around. "That's what I want to know." He whispered harshly. "I know Raph knows, and I know Father knows, but no one else does. The rest of us have noticed, but I'm just the one that sees the results the most. What's going on?" he hissed.

"If you're so sure that Raph and your father know, why don't you go and ask them instead of hoping you can get an answer out of me?" she fired back. "You're being ridiculous, Don." She added for good measure.

Leveling his gaze with hers, he met her glare with one of his own. He may not have been as temperamental as Emily or his older brother, but he could throw his weight around if he wanted to. "That concussion wasn't ridiculous. Two more inches up and over and you could have been in a coma." He tried to keep his voice even, if he got Emily too riled up, he would never get anything out of her. "So what is going on?" he asked one more time.

Bit's of Emily's anger were washed away, replaced by sadness. "Don, it's something that you just wouldn't understand." She said softly. "There are something's about life topside that you and your brothers just can't understand."

"Then help us understand!" Don insisted.

Emily opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, shaking her head. "I'm sorry Don, but...."

She stopped abruptly when a small, furry hand was placed over her own. Looking down, she saw Splinter's kind face looking up at her. "They deserve to know, my child." He told her calmly.

Emily looked away, knowing he was right, but wanting to shove that realization so far down in her mind that she would never agree. But she couldn't deny Splinter's reasoning, and she couldn't deny Don's pleading, especially knowing it would be reflected on the faces of the two other brothers. Relenting, she nodded. "I'll wait until Casey and April get here. I don't want to have to say this twice."

Don nodded and Splinter patted her shoulder. "You are wiser that you think, Emily. Good always come when you relinquish your fears into the light. Now you only have to wait."

She nodded, trying to gather up her courage. But what had once been the source of her courage was dead and buried, and the other...the other was probably practicing with his sis in the training room. So that's where she went. Nodding quickly to Splinter, she walked swiftly to the dojo, hearing Raph hitting the heavy bags. "Raph," she called to him when she reached the doorway. He turned to face her, sweat trickling down his brow and into his eyes. "I'm going to tell them tonight." She said softly, looking at the ground.

Raph didn't need to know what she was talking about, he already knew. "You sure about this, Em?" he asked her a bit breathlessly as he walked across the mat to her.

Not looking up, she put on a sad smile. "As sure as I'll ever be." She joked lamely. Finally pulling her gaze up from the ground, she found Raph's amber eyes easily and comfortably. "Can you help me?" she asked quietly.

"That's all you have to say." He whispered, touching her hand lightly. She smiled truly this time. It was small, but it was full of gratitude.

Walking to the corner he had been standing in, she turned on the speakers she had brought from her home. Modern rock played at a moderate volume in an upbeat song. Slipping out of her sweater, she beckoned Raph forward with her hand. "How about we lighten the mood a little?" she joked.

Wiping the back of his hand across his forehead, he gave her a cocky grin and sauntered forward to meet her in the center of the mat. "How about we up the ante." Emily raised an eyebrow slightly. "First person to tap, not to fall."

"I can agree to that." Emily smiled, lunging at Raph.

He reacted with a punch, but Emily had already ducked to grapple his knees. Raph was on the ground with a thud, but had brought his knees in, throwing Emily over his head. Rolling onto her feet, Emily turned in time to see Raph swing himself to the side and stand up as well. Raph cocked his head to the side with a smirk and took a side step towards Emily. She threw a side-kick to his head, which he blocked and mirrored to her stomach. Bringing up her knee, she deflected it before trying to sweep Raph and get him on the ground again where she could use her ground fighting skills.

But he lithely moved out of the way. Back and forth they tried to gain the upper hand. Back and forth for nearly half an hour they would parry and thrust, roll and block, back and forth until a well-known laugh sounded at the doorway. "You two are at it again?" Casey barked in laughter.

Raph turned to look at his friend, only to have Emily seize the situation. Taking a slight running start, she jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and her legs around his waist. Smiling at Casey, she held on until Raph had to tap. She jumped down and sashayed over to her sweater, throwing it over her shoulder before strutting out of the room, turning to look back at Raph and smile innocently. He only glared back.

Dinner was eaten in the kitchen with banter between everyone. But every now and then Raph and Emily would throw each other glances. When everyone had finished eating, Emily cleared her throat quietly. The others looked at her quickly. Don looked at her expectantly from the sink, Splinter and Raph nodded minutely, and the others were a bit confused. "Can we all go into the living room? There's something I've needed to tell you all for a while."

The others nodded and moved to take their normal places on the couch, in the chairs, on the floor, or on the table. Taking a deep breath, Emily leaned against the old television and turned to face them. "Guys, there's something that some of you know and some of you don't about me. It's something I've never really wanted to say to anyone, but you all deserve to know." Taking another deep breath to keep in her resolve, she glanced over at Raph, sitting on the arm of the couch. He nodded and gave her an ever-so slight smile. "You've probably all seen me come down here with lots more bruises than when I left. And I bet most of you chalked it up to kickboxing. Sometimes you're right, but most of the time you're wrong. And it's not the Foot either." She reassured quickly. "My dad, he's....he's an abusive drunk." She spit out. Wanting to get it all off her shoulders, she continued. "And my mom, she k....died when I was ten." Feeling her resolve quickly leaving her and the adrenaline distil out of her veins, she turned from her friends, her family almost, and practically ran up the stair to her room.

She didn't hear the footsteps behind her. "You did good, Em." Raph told her from the doorway.

Emily had lain herself out on her stomach on the bed. "I hope you're right, Raph." She sighed. "'Cause if not, I just lost the closest thing to home I've ever had."

Raph laughed and sat himself down at the foot of her bed. "If you haven't noticed, we don't judge very much down here." He laughed.

Emily laughed too, but stopped short. "Thanks Raph." She told him as she rolled over onto her back to face him. "Thanks for everything." She smiled up at him.

All he could do was smile back.

**We're sorry this took so long, but school came out to bit us in the you-know-where. Between tests, homework, SOLs, and now finals; added onto karate tournaments, we've only just had time to sit down and write. **

**We promise more will come in shorter intervals over the summer. **

**And something major will happen in the next chapter or the one after that, so keep your eyes peeled.**

**Sincerely,**

**C M + L W = idkaname**


	5. Chapter 5

Raph left her there so she could get some sleep. Returning downstairs, he put a plan he had come up with earlier that day into action. All he had to do was talk to his father and brothers. He knew Leo would be the hardest to convince, and Leo already cared about Emily as much as he did Mikey.

A few hours later, Raph jogged back up the stairs and to the third room on the left. Quietly opening the door, he hoped to find Emily asleep, but she quickly turned her head to look at him and smile. Not having time to prepare an eloquent speech about the pros and cons of his decision, he launched straight into things. "Move in with us." He spit out quickly.

Emily raised an eyebrow as she sat up in bed. "What?" she asked in utter confusion.

"Move in with us." He said again. "As in permanently claim this room as your own and live here with us. Well, at least for as long you can stand us." He added quickly.

Laughing, Emily slid her legs to the side, resting her feet on the floor. "Sorry about being a little shocked. But topside, you'd only say that to a girlfriend."

Raph growled and threw up his hands in frustration. "I don't care how you do things topside! All the things that go on topside are all the reasons I want you here with us, where you're safe. Namely where you're away from the Foot and your father."

Emily looked at him pointedly. "You want me down here or you and your family want me down here?"

"Both." He sighed. "The others agree that it's the best thing for you. But it was my idea to begin with." Sighing again, he walked over to Emily and sat down next to her on the bed. "It just doesn't feel right to have you up there where your life is in jeopardy from your _father_ of all people!"

Letting out a sigh of her own, she curled her legs under her and turned to face Raph. "I belong up there, Raph. It's all I've ever known."

"You know us!" he shot back. "Mikey won't stop talking about how you've gotten better at his games; Don really trusts you, even when it took him almost a year to warm up to April; Leo respects you, which is a major deal; and Splinter already loves you like a daughter."

"What about you?" Emily asked softly. "Or am I too annoying and troublesome to be on your good side?"

Raph ran a hand over his head, rubbing his neck. " I didn't know what to think about you in the beginning; I wondered why I talked Leo into letting us jump into that fight to save you. But you grew on me, Em. And I'm more sure that you belong here with us than I'm sure that I'm a giant turtle."

Emily looked up at him, searching his caramel eyes for a reason to say no. Not finding one there, she looked down at her hands. "What about my dad? He's completely dependent on me." She realized. "My prize money pays for the rent."

"You can still send that in, can't you? Just because you live down here doesn't mean you can't still be a fighter. There's no way we'd take that away from you."

Out of retorts and excuses, Emily ran her hand through her hair. "Alright. You're right; it's best for me to be down here." Looking up at Raph, she saw him barely containing his smile. "Remind me to ask Casey to help me get my stuff later."

"Sure, Em." He finally smiled. "Are you sure any of us can't help?" he offered.

Emily shook her head. "My dad is going to go out and get more beer, during the day. We can't exactly have one or more giant green things walking around topside. Now can we?"

"No, we can't." he agreed with a smirk. Standing from the bed, he turned to look at Emily again before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Later that day, Casey and April followed Emily down the street and up the stairs to her home. Looking around, Casey put on a sad smirk. "This place looks like where I grew up." He shrugged, glancing at the beer bottles and cans strewn about the floor, couch, table, and kitchen.

"I just have to pack my stuff, then we can get out of here." Emily sighed, ashamed of her apartment. She'd never known anything else, but she was sure April and Casey had some luxuries wherever they lived. She hurried into her room, threw open her dressers, and managed to squeeze all of her stuff into three backpacks. Coming back into the living room, she found a pen and paper to write a note to her father.

_**Dad,  
Don't wait for me anymore. I'm leaving. I'm staying with friends untiI things have to change. So no more free breakfast. But don't worry, I'll still pay the rent. Take care of yourself.  
Love,  
Em**_

As Emily wrote the letter, April and Casey had their own discussion. "How did the guys talk her into moving in with them?" April asked. She knew Emily was fiercely independent and thought that she would have refused their offer on account of not accepting charity. But April knew the turtles were right. Emily needed to be some place safe; safe from the Foot, among other things.

"Mikey told me that it took Raph ten minutes to convince them and five minutes to convince Em." Casey told her as he grabbed two of the backpacks Emily had put on the couch, handing one to April.

Startled, April looked up at Casey in disbelief. "This was Raph's idea?" she knew Raphael to be the hardheaded, belligerent, and despondent of the brothers. Granted, it was obvious that Raph had taken a liking to Emily; they all had. She was the quirky, competitive, and determined piece of the puzzle that was made up by the brothers and their friends.

Casey nodded. "That, and Don says that Raph and Splinter were the first to find out about Em's father, a month before we did." He added. He was Raph's closest friend, his only comrade when he had moonlighted as Nightwatcher, and he had to admit that Emily was a good thing for him. She kept him in line and gave him something to work on. She was his pet project with a temper and strength, physical and mental, that rivaled his; an equal that he didn't even realize he had.

"One more thing, guys." Emily said quickly, rushing just as fast into the kitchen. Grabbing something off the counter, she hurried back out, shoved the object into the third backpack, and picked it up. "Well, here's nothing." She huffed, walking towards the door with the others behind her. Waiting for them to begin to walk down the hallway, she shut and locked the door.

Possibly for the last time.

**AN: Sorry about taking so long, but C M just got back from nearly a month on vacation.**

**We're also sorry that this thing is so short. But we only had so much that we wanted to happen in this chapter. But more will come, hopefully soon. We just have to wait for C M to decipher her chicken scratch notes that she made on the plane rides.**

**P.S: We would have sent this in a PM, but you had it shut off:**

**Thank you true-wolf-at-heart for sending that message to us. It made us get off our butts and write this. (Yes, this was all written since 1:something in the morning).**

**Thanks for bearing with us.**

**Sincerely,**

**C M + L W = idkaname**


	6. Chapter 6

Emily had only been living with the brothers for a fortnight, but she knew that it had been the right decision. It was a good feeling to go to sleep with no new bruises and to wake up and walk down the stairs to see five smiling faces. It had been a little awkward in the beginning, since the brothers had never really had any prolonged exposure to a woman. But within a few days, issues like showers and such had been resolved. And once a week Emily had to go out and get pizza for everyone. Emily still went to the gym everyday to train with Mr. Potter, who had figured out instantly that Emily had moved away from her father. And she still trained everyday back at the lair with the brothers--usually Raph--or Splinter.

But then they started to teach her how to use weapons. Then her daily lessons became terrifying, self-inflicted injury full, torturous times that could last up to five hours, depending on who was teaching her.

It started with Mikey.

"Alright, Em." He smiled, clapping his hands together. "Have you ever used a nunchaku before?"

Emily raised an eyebrow and stood up from the split she had been in on the floor. "When I was seventeen." She said warily, eyeing the nunchakus hanging on the wall to her left and tucked into Mikey's belt.

"Then it's time for a refresher course!" he cheered. He walked swiftly to the wall full of weapons and to his nunchakus, turned to look back at Emily, and then chose the pair he thought would suit her best and keep Raph from freaking out because of all the bruises most of the others would leave.

Emily took the weapon when it was handed to her, eyeing it with caution. It wasn't heavy, but it wasn't light, either. The ash surface had been lacquered and polished to perfection. It was obviously his practice weapon. The two handles were about twelve inches long and did not taper, unlike the nunchakus Emily had once used. Another difference was that instead of a metal cap with four chain links connecting the handles, there were holes in the top with approximately five inches of rope run through them. Taking one handle in her left hand, she gave it a careful spin.

And she hit herself in the elbow.

Cursing under her breath, she shook out her arm, feeling the impact reverberate through her bones.

Mikey laughed from his spot by the speakers. "Emily, zero. Nunchaku, one."

Emily was tempted to throw the weapon at him, but she reminded herself to stay calm. That was what Splinter had been teaching her. "Okay." She sighed, looking down at what might become her worst nightmare. "Let's get this over with."

For three hours, Mikey taught her the basics. There were the strikes, the blocks, the catches, and the crash course on how to not knock yourself out. But Mickey was not at all impressed with her progress. Most of the time, Emily would hit herself with the handle she wasn't holding. And if she didn't, she was going so slow that the nunchaku just fell into place with absolutely no power behind it. But he knew that this might as well have been the first time she had ever laid her hands on a nunchaku, so he was lenient. He also knew that with time, she would get better. And she had time. The brothers had agree to spend a week with Emily each.

By the time day seven came around for Mikey, he was proud to have Emily as a student. After getting over her fear of the weapon on her first day, she had gone out on a limb and found that it wasn't so bad. Day two she had learned flips and hand changes and some of the more advanced moves. Day three she learned to fight and disarm another person with the nunchaku. Day four had been the hardest for her, the introduction of a second nunchaku to be held in her right hand. And then the process had started all over again. Mikey considered day seven Emily's end of course exam. And she passed with flying colors until Mikey threw in the challenge that had been given to him.

"Figure eight with both hands, flip them both ways on both hands, low catch on both, and then basic drop catch." Mikey rambled, knowing Emily would understand the vocabulary. Just before Emily started, he held up his hand. "But," he drew it out, seeing the smile wipe clean off of Emily's face. "When you drop the second handles, the tops have to be perfectly even."

"What?" Emily exclaimed. "You can't be serious!" she was angry. She had made it through the entire test without doing a single thing wrong. And now she had been given an impossible task. Catching the nunchakus evenly was a once in a million chance, and Mikey expected her to do it right there and then.

Mikey shook his head, still smiling. "I had to do it, so you have to do it."

"You're no fun." Emily whined under her breath.

But Mikey heard her. "I'm tons of fun, and you know it."

"Whatever." Emily sighed.

She tried for over an hour. Spinning and flipping and catching and releasing. Every time she was off by a couple of inches. As time went on, the others came in and watched Emily try and fail to meet Mikey's last requirement. They knew he was being tough, for once, but they all knew he had to be tough. Even Emily knew that; not that she would admit it.

Raph was one of the last to come in. He knew that Mikey had planned to ask this of her, and he knew it would take Emily a while to get it. He still remembered how long it had taken Mikey to get it all those years ago. And that was after years of training. But Mikey expected Emily to be able to land the nunchakus perfectly after one week. Looking at Emily, he saw that she was tired, sore, and angry. Mikey better be a good runner if he wanted to make it out of the dojo when everything was said and done.

Coming up beside his little brother, Raph appraised Emily's technique. "How long she been tryin'?" he asked Mikey.

Mikey looked over at the clock by the door. "Hour and a half. She's gotten close a couple times, but she isn't quite there."

"Can she have help?" Raph asked, seeing that Emily was close to throwing something. And that wouldn't end well for Mikey or anyone else in the near vicinity. All Mikey did was shrug. So Raph took his opportunity when Emily took a break and shook out her arms. "Hey, Em." He called out to her as he crossed the mat. "Need a hand?"

"No." she snapped, her blue eyes flaring at him with an ice-cold glare.

Raph laughed once as he reached her. "Too bad, you're gettin' one." Emily sighed and resigned herself to her fate. "I watched Mikey do this twenty-two years ago, and I've watched you try a couple times. You're having the same problem he did. When you go to catch the second handle, your thumbs in the way and it rolls the second handle forward. And then you have to do it all over again. Now, what you need to do is when you catch it, move your thumb out of the way early. That way, when you drop it, you can slide it into place."

Emily looked from her nunchakus, to Raph, and back to the nunchakus. Blowing her bangs out of her face with a sigh, she glared at her weapons. "I'm so stupid to have not seen that." She whined, absentmindedly rubbing a bruise on her arm.

"Em, you're not stupid. This is all new to you." Raph sighed. "You've been working at this for a week. Mikey worked for two years."

Emily just shook her head. "Thanks, Raph." She sighed again, spun the nunchakus a couple of times and then got ready to try it with the adjustment.

To start, she did go straight into the flips; she just did the catch and release. But the nunchakus were landing in perfect alignment. Glancing up at Raph, and then to Mikey, she tried. She spun the nunchakus in a figure eight pattern four times, building speed and momentum. When the nunchakus crossed her body, she stopped the spin, letting the second handles roll over the backs of her hands. When the second handles reached her fingertips, she let go of the first handles and grabbed them. Restarting the spin, she did the same when her hands reached their respective sides after a few more spins. But after she caught the first handles again, she swung the nunchakus straight down, catching them under her arms. Then came the tricky part. Moving her thumbs out of the way, like Raph had told her to, she opened her arms and dropped the nunchakus into her waiting hands. As her thumbs closed over the second handles, she slid them into place directly over the first handles.

And they matched up perfectly.

"I did it, Mikey, I did it!" she cried in delight. Holding up her hands, still holding the nunchakus in a death-grip, to show him.

"She beat me." He exclaimed under his breath, but pushed his defeat aside to congratulate her. Running over to her, he stuck out his fist. "Cowabunga, dude!" he laughed.

Emily laughed along with them, hitting her fist lightly against his. "Here," she said, holding out the nunchakus. "You better take these before I hit something."

Mikey nodded, still laughing even though he knew that something would probably be him, and took the weapons back to their place on the wall. Then Raph came over to Emily. "Good job, Em." He smiled, mussing up her hair and utterly destroying her ponytail. "You even beat Mikey's time to get that move down. But don't worry, you won't actually ever use it." He assured her, grabbing her arm gently. "Come on, let's get you somethin' to eat."

Emily was still smiling from ear to ear. "I can't believe I did that." She looked up at Raph, her eyes dazed in excitement. "Thanks, Raph." She threw her arms around his waist, laughing at her accomplishment and at herself for how happy a simple accomplishment was making her.

Raph laughed along with her, rubbing the shoulder she hadn't bruised two days ago. "Hope you're not like this when you show Leo up. He might have a heart attack."

Looking up at him, Emily cocked her head to the side. "Who do I have next?"

"Don."

**AN: We're back! Again!**

**I think is the fastest update we've ever had. Oh well, back to the chapter.**

**Again, we know this is short, but we're breaking up each weapons lesson into its own chapter.**

**Duh, duh, duh! Don's next! Have you noticed how we're having the guys start her out with **_**blunt**_** weapons first? If anyone can guess who's teaching Em after Raph, we'll try and grant any wish regarding this story or any of our other stories you may be reading.**

**Well, thanks for reading (and bearing with us this long/far)!**

**We'll try and update soon, considering these chapters are coming out like kudzu.**

**Sincerely, **

**C M + L W = idkaname**

**P.S: Hey, guys, this is C M. I know what L W told you in an earlier chapter, about the fights. So this is my revenge. He's upstairs getting soda right now, so I have to be quick. This chapter and the next three chapters will be straight out of my memory of me and my friends teaching L W to use various weapons. And the part where Em hit herself in the elbow and Mikey starts keeping score, actually happened. At the end of that one-hour class, the score was L W: 2, Nunchaku: 28. And he hasn't gotten any better in 5 1/2 years. Well, just passing on some info you might find funny. **

**C M**


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Don took up the effort to teach Emily.

Emily thought that the bo would be easy. How hard could it be to swing around a big stick? But that was before Don handed her the big sick in question.

The sanded, polished, and taped oak staff reached Emily's eyes when she rested it on the ground, and it easily weighed ten pounds. Looking up at Don, she didn't see how the relatively thin turtle could fight for hours on end with it, much less strike as fast as she knew he could.

"You've never used one of these before, right?" Don asked her, spinning his bo over his hands.

Emily shook her head, weighing the bo in her hands, imagining how much it would hurt if she hit herself.

"Good." Don smiled. "Let's start with the basics."

And that's what he did.

Up, down, right, and left were repeated easily a million times before the day was through, and just as many bruises then covered Emily's arm, sides, shoulders, and head. By the end of the first five hours, Emily could stop an attacker if they rushed in at her with another staff. But only if the assailant in question rushed in at a slow walk and swung the bo in slow motion.

So needless to say, Emily wasn't too impressed with her progress, again. And yet again, Raph was there to try and pick her up from the sullen mood she had pushed herself into.

When he got back from an errand for Splinter, he saw Emily stretched out on the couch, her thin frame clothed in the baggiest clothes he knew her to have, an icepack resting on her head. Her eyes were closed, and Raph couldn't help the thought that she looked younger, softer, like the weight of her life had been taken off her shoulders. But the ice-pack kind of took away from that.

Raph didn't know if she was asleep for not--he hoped she was--but he walked over and sat silently on the coffee table in front of the couch, keeping his amber eyes on Emily's calm face. Looking her over, he saw the blue and purple blobs covering her arms and one appearing just below the hairline on her neck. Raph knew she had been with Don today, and he had hoped he would've been smart enough to come up with a way to teach Emily without inviting her to kill herself.

"Em," he spoke softly, brushing a part of her bangs out of her face. "Em," he called again, a little louder.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open. Em looked up Raph, a small smile tugging at her lips before she pushed it away. "Hi, Raph." She whispered, trying to sit up but instantly regretting it.

"How bad did ya get your butt handed to ya, Em?" he asked, looking at her bruises again, barely withholding a shudder. Raph and his brothers' bruises just appeared as a darker green on their skin. Sure, he had seen Case and April with bruises, but never that close.

She sighed, closing her eyes and wincing as she shifted her weight on the couch. "Badly." Opening her eyes, she looked up at Raph's face again. "Big sticks aren't my friends." She tried to joke, but she was also deadly serious.

"I noticed." Raph smirked. "Did you learn anything else?" he asked, genuinely interested.

Emily thought for a second, cocking her head to the side. "The four basic strikes and the basics of self defense with that thing." She told him, shaking her head. "At least that's what I was supposed to learn."

"Not bad." Raph allowed. "But if ya think you're sore now, just wait until you're working with Fearless. Now let's get ya a heat pack. That ice pack won't do everything." He stood and looked down at her expectedly.

"I don't want to move." Emily whined, pouting up at Raph.

He sighed and rested his hands on his hips. "Don's going to teach ya tomorrow no matter how sore ya are, so ya might as well start shaking it off now."

Emily glared up at him but sighed and relented all the same. Slowly, she forced herself to sit up, cringing at the pain that shot through her muscles. Raph helped her by resting his hand on her back to keep her from lying back down. When she finally stood, it was shaky at best, her legs unwilling to support her weight, however small. It didn't take long for her legs to give up entirely, sending her to the floor.

Well, they would have if Raph hadn't grabbed around her waist and held her up, supporting her against his chest. "Are you alright, Em?" he asked quickly, looking her over from his vantage point.

She nodded. "Apparently my legs don't want to move even more than I did." She joked darkly, looking down at them in disdain. Looking up at Raph, she gave him a weak smile. "Thank you." She whispered.

"Glad to be of service." He smiled back at her. "Do ya want me to let go?" he asked suddenly.

"I don't particularly want to fall. You can help me get to the kitchen and then put me in a chair." Emily told him, looking down at his arms wrapped around her.

He nodded, shifting Em to his side. They slowly made their way o the kitchen, where Raph carefully set Em down in the chair, no letting his eyes leave her face, knowing she would never actually tell him if she was in pain, but it would be betrayed by her eyes. He got the water pack out from the cabinet and set it on the counter ad filled up the tea kettle and started to boil it.

"Why do you help me so much?" Em asked him, thinking back to when she had a concussion.

He refused to look at her while he thought of an answer. "Because believe it or not, ya need someone to be there for ya from time to time." He muttered.

Emily didn't broach the topic, and neither tried to break the silence that fell on them while Raph helped Em loosen her tight and sore muscles. They knew their friendship was special and neither wanted to test the waters of their own minds to see how special.

The night passed quickly, especially for Emily, who basically passed out against Raph's shoulder while she and the brothers were watching a movie. Raph carried her to her room and tucked her small and still frame beneath the old blue blanket.

When Emily awoke, all the brothers except for Don were still asleep. She had wanted to thank Raph for carrying her to her room last night, but now it would have to wait.

Begrudgingly, she trudged to the dojo, where her current source of torture sat on the floor. And it wasn't Don.

The lacquer of the bo gleamed back at her as if it was taunting her, warning her of the deadly weight behind it, threatening to draw blood and break bone should she not monitor her every move.

A few feet away, Don stood in a straddle-leg stance, practicing his quick, deadly open-hand strikes. "Good morning." He called, his breathing heavy.

"Morning." Emily mumbled back, still eyeing the staff.

Don stopped and straightened out, shaking out his muscular legs. He followed Em's gaze to the bo and walked across the mats to her. "Let's not worry about that yet." He smiled, motioning to the corner of the mats where he had been standing. "I think we should try something different."

"Raph talked to you, didn't he?" Emily sighed, following Don and feeling sorry for what his older brother might have put him through.

He shook his head, the smile still on his face. "He didn't kick and scream at me, Emily. He pointed out how sore you got and how bad your bruises are."

"Oh." It was all Em could say. She was shocked that Raph had controlled himself.

So Don took a different approach. He explained to Em how to use the bo, as an extension of her body. Then he re-taught her the things she had learned the day before, with great improvement. She wasn't scared of the bo anymore, and she knew how to absorb the shock of the wood hitting her arms and shoulders. In six hours, she learned what don had planned to teach her over the course of two and a half days.

When Emily left the dojo that night she was exhilarated.

And exhausted.

She was becoming very good friends with the couch, sleeping on it until the next morning, awaking to churning stomach that was demanding food.

When Em got to the kitchen, the brothers were sitting around the table, laughing over their breakfast, some of them with cups of coffee held between their green hands. Em was very accustomed to her life with the brothers, but it still shocked her sometimes how amazingly normal they were.

In her eyes, what she saw while she stood unnoticed in the doorway was a Kodak moment. Raph as leaned back in his chair, his feet propped up on the edge of the table, a cup of coffee in his hand. He was laughing at Don and Mikey, who were arguing about something, but both smiling at each other. Leo sat at the end of the table, his usual visage replaced with one of an older brother enjoying the company of his siblings. Rarely could you find the four together under such good terms, and Em didn't want to ruin it.

Then Leo saw her and smiled his warm smile that seemed too old for a twenty-six year old. Em always thought Leo would have been the perfect older brother to have growing up, almost as good as Austin. "Good to you see you back with the living, Em." He joked.

Emily huffed out her breath, sending her bangs flying, but she was smiling. This banter is one of the things that made her feel like that little sister that had been there her whole life. "Glad to be back." She smiled sweetly. "Any more coffee?" she asked him, walking over to the cabinet to find her mug; the black one with Mickey Mouse chasing Donald Duck painted on it. The brothers had designated it as hers because their hands no longer fit into the handle and Splinter never used mugs.

"Plenty." Done piped up, his arm wrapped around Mikey's neck, holding him tightly while he gave him a noogie. "Mainly 'cause we didn't let this rascal chug the whole thing." Just then Mikey got the upper hand and flipped Don onto the ground, but his older brother hung onto his neck, dragging the orange-banded brother with him. He two continued the scuffle on the floor while the other three laughed heartily, enjoying their picturesque time together.

Well, besides the fact that four of them are giant turtles.

Don was proud of Em. Even more proud than Mikey. She had passed the past six days with flying colors, and she was handling her final exam like a pro, not exerting herself too soon. All his brothers and his father stood in the corner, watching as Em blocked every strike he sent her way and returning with one almost as strong and as fast. Emily had learned faster and better than anyone had expected. She had learned two weapons in two weeks. And she had never complained that they were pushing her too hard.

He lost his train of thought when Emily got a strike in on the center of his plastron. His brothers laughed while he doubled over to catch his breath. He shook his head and smiled. Time to start part two of the sparring. He stood up and waved Mikey over. His little brother knew it was coming, so he sprinted over, drawing his nunchakus. The brothers had agreed that it would be a good idea to connect what she had learned so far.

Emily went pale. Her hands tightened on the bo subconsciously. She was scared on the nunchakus again. She had never been on the receiving end of them before. But she knew how they worked. And apparently if she could just hit Mikey once it would be over.

Raph tensed as well, seeing the fear flash in Em's eyes. His hands tightened around his waist, keeping himself under control. He knew Emily could handle herself and that Mikey wouldn't try to hurt her. But accidents do happen. And Emily could be rather accident prone at times.

Mikey and Em circled each other cautiously; neither wanting to attack first and leave themselves open. Finally, Emily struck first, using the reach of the bo to her advantage. But Mikey struck back quickly, used to sparing Don with their weapons over the years. The two went back and forth for fifteen minutes before Emily fell. She landed hard on her back, the bo skittering across the floor into the corner. Mikey thought he had it in the bag, so he caught his nunchakus and prepared to tap Emily on the shoulder, but Em had other plans. She rolled to the side and grabbed the bo just in time to fling it around and barely nick Mikey in the leg as he chased after her.

Emily had won.

A loud applause broke out from the other side of the dojo, the brothers cheering for her, huge grins on their faces.

Em was growing up on their eyes, and she was turning into a ninja to be reckoned with.


	8. Chapter 8

It was Monday. Emily knew she should have been starting lessons, but she didn't want to. Her body was sore, her head hurt, and she didn't think she could remember any other moves. Today she was supposed to start working with Raph. She had worked with sai before, so she hoped that Raph would let her sleep.

She hoped.

She was right.

Sort of.

It was around three when she finally dragged herself out of bed, shuffling down the stars in old athletic shorts and a shirt that Austin had given her when she was fifteen. It wasn't only a miracle that it still fit, but she could probably fit two of her in it even then.

She padded into the kitchen, searching for coffee. She found the coffee, but no Raph.

She checked the bulletin board in the living room to see if anything had left her a message. One from Casey reminding her that tonight was her turn to get pizza, but that was it. And no Raph.

Finally she made it to the dojo. There was a cloth pile in the middle of the floor, but no Raph.

Curiosity won her over and she walked over to the pile. It was actually something wrapped in a dark silk cloth. And on top wrested a note with her name on it. Em flipped it over and recognized Raph's handwriting immediately.

_Em,_

_I know where you just came from. That black hole you call a bed that you've been sucked into for the past fourteen hours. _

_And you know I know where you should have been. _

_Take these and practice a bit on your own. _

_I'll let you have the day to yourself if and only if you meet me at the rooftop on the corner of 5__th__ and Madison as soon as the sun goes down. _

_Raph_

Emily was intrigued. She carefully opened the wrapping, gasping when she got it open. In her hands lay a beautiful pair of sai. And she knew they weren't a pair of Raph's old practice sai. They had a midnight blue leather wrapping on the handle and the tips had been sharpened to a shining point. Raph didn't even trust Don with a pair of pointed sai. That was shocking to her.

But once the shock wore off, she did what Raph had asked and stated forcing herself to remember most of what she had been taught.

It was five at night and Emily had already set out from the lair. She wore dark jeans and a tight t-shirt. Bagginess was not something you wanted when working with sai, especially when they were sharpened. The weapons in question were carefully wrapped and placed in her backpack with two bottles of water, and two power-bars. Along with a small first aid kit. She trudged down the streets that were becoming more and more alien the longer she lived with the brothers. 5th and Madison wasn't that far away.

Raph was sitting on the rooftop he told Emily to meet him at. He'd been there all day, just thinking. He had been turning things over in his head. Things he couldn't think about back home. He kept thinking about Emily.

There was fighting and working out, but they only took him so far. He wanted more and she was that something more for him. He went out at night and patrolled the streets with his brothers, protecting the great city they lived and loved. Emily was always that something more that he craved after the rush of a fight, after the burning work out in the dojo. She filled that aching feeling in his heart that yearned for another touch from someone and she was good enough a person to see past the fact that he was different.

But he couldn't love her. He didn't even really know what love was. But he couldn't love her. Could he?

When Emily climbed up the ladder, he banished the thoughts and put on his trademark smirk. "Enjoy your nap, sleeping beauty?"

She smiled. "Yes. Thanks for letting me sleep." She dropped the backpack by the low wall and pulled out a water bottle, tossing it to Raph.

"Ya needed it." He smiled, looking at the backpack. "Did ya plan on running away or somethin'?"

She laughed again and opened the bag to show him. "Just the provisions I thought we'd need to spend the night on a rooftop with pointy weapons. But why did you want to bring me out here?"

Raph sighed and pushed himself off the wall, walking towards her and letting his eyes wander of her body. "I know ya like the guys and all, but I know they pressure ya. Ya need space. And I'm goin' to try to give ya what ya need."

Emily's smile grew even more and her cheeks flushed cherry red. "Thank you, Raphael." She never called him Raphael. She didn't know what was taking over her.

Raph didn't pay much attention. "Did ya do what I asked?" He pulled out his sais and walked over to Emily.

She pulled out the sais Raph gave her and spun them how she remembered to. "For the most part." She replied sheepishly. "I still don't remember much. I haven't used stuff like this in years."

"Well, don't worry too much." He smiled as he twirled his pointed weapons. "We're going to start from the basics."

So he spent the night on the roof with her, teaching her, laughing with her, and laughing at her when she fell on her face or smacked herself with the handle of her sais. But soon they had to go back to the lair, and Em had to stop off for pizza. Raph helped carry the bags as they trudged through the sewers, trading pointers and stories of sais. But halfway home, they heard a rustle behind him in the sewer.

Raph turned around quickly and rested his hand against the small of Emily's back. He pressed his finger to his lips, shushing Emily silently. She nodded and slid her sais out of her backpack silently and held them tightly.

Raph slowly and silently walked back down the sewer back towards the sound, leaving Emily alone. She watched his receding shape in the shadows as long as she could before she was left completely alone. But she was scared, very scared.

She gripped the sais very tightly, feeling the metal and leather rub and press against her hands. Out of the darkness, she saw a shape too small to be Raph dart across the sewer. She readied the sais to attack, hoping it wouldn't come to that. But out of the shadows came a dark-clothed figure.

Foot.

She blocked the sword as the shadow virtually flew at her. Before she knew what had happened, warm, think liquid run over her hand as the ninja slumped on top of her. She pushed him off and fell against the wall.

In the dim light she could see the red blood flowing over her hands and onto her clothes. And in the dim light she could see the foot ninja lying beside her.

He was dead.

Her mind and body shut down. She couldn't move. She barely recognized Raph coming over to, calling her name softly. She barely registered his picking her up and cradling her in his arms, rushing to the hidden door.

She heard whispers in her ear, probably from him, but she couldn't hear. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't feel anything except for the blood. She couldn't think of anything except that she had killed someone.

Raph carried her into the living room and dropped the bags. Emily was shivering in fear and shock, staring down at her blood stained hands. He told his brothers what had happened and carried her upstairs to the bathroom. He turned on the water and tried to shake her out of the trance. He pried the sais out of her hand and stripped her blood stained jacket off of her shivering arms.

"Em, Emily. Please, Emily, shake out of it. Emily, look at me." He started peeling off his battle gear and bandana as he carried Emily into the shower.

Her clothes soaked through as he tried to wipe the blood off of her. Her t-shirt stuck to her small body and her jeans turned black. His skin was covered in water as he tried to snap her out of the trance. "Emily!" he hissed in her hear, her black hair sticking to his face. "Emily, please. It's alright. Ya didn't mean to hurt him. And if ya didn't kill him, he woulda killed ya. Em, come on; snap out of it, please. For me."

She let out a shaky sob, her whole body vibrating. "I killed him." She whispered. "Raph, I killed him." Tears were streaming down her face and mixing with the warm water.

"I know, Em. It wasn't your fault." He whispered back, gently touching her face.

She sobbed again, buckling against him and holding his tightly, pressing her body against his. "I didn't mean to. But all the blood…Oh God, Raph, I killed him."

"Shh, Em, shh. Don't worry. Better him than you. Now come on, you, let's get ya dried off. It's gonna be okay, Emily." He hoisted her out of the tub again and sat her on the counter, grabbing a towel out of the cabinet and wrapping it around her shoulders.

She kept shivering, out of shock. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding tight to his smooth skin. "Thank you." She managed to whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry ya pretty little head off." He smiled as he lifted her up, cradling her protectively in his arms.

He set her down on her bed, brushing her hair back. He walked around the room, grabbing the clothes she knew she slept in and handed them to her, turning around to face the door as soon as he did. Raph heard the rustle of fabric and the thud of wet clothes hitting the ground. The sound reminded him that all his battle gear and his bandana were sitting in the bathroom. He felt exposed to her, every inch of his skin open to be seen. Especially his face. His caramel eyes were open to be seen clearly since his red bandana lay on the ground across the hall. But he cared about Emily more than his clothes.

"It's safe." Emily whispered. Raph turned to see her curled under the blankets, her wet hair spread over the pillow. "Thank you, Raphael." She smiled.

He smiled back and sat at the edge of her bed. "I'll stay with ya tonight." He gently brushed her hair out of her face.

"Can you stay closer?" she asked sheepishly, holding up the blanket for him to lay next to her.

He nodded and slid under the covers with her, holding her close, telling her it would be alright. And that's how Emily fell asleep, her arms wrapped around his body and her face pressed against his chest, breathing in the smell coming off of his skin that was as warm as his eyes. And that's how he lay awake, his arm around her small shoulders, thinking about the look on her face as she clung to him.

She needed him.

**I'm back!**

**It's me, C M.**

**So, what will happen next? Wait a few minutes and you shall discover.**

**Seriously, I have another chapter already typed, just need to load.**

**Message me for questions, comments, or concerns, anything. I love talking to you guys. Sometimes your comments shape the next chapter or even the whole rest of the story.**

**Love you all! Thanks for sticking with me!**

**Sincerely,  
C M  
idkaname**


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Raph helped Emily get ready. She was still in shock, still shaking from time to time. He kept her from looking at the blood stained clothes and didn't let her into the bathroom until he got rid of the jacket and the sai. She clung to his arm as they went down the stairs, her legs shaking underneath her.

The brothers came over and gently touched her shoulders. They knew what it was like, the turmoil of the first time they killed someone. Hers was in complete self defense, but she was still taking it badly. Leo pulled Raph aside and talked to him about what had happened. When Raph told him she had been attacked by a Foot ninja with sword, Leo shook his head, glancing back at Emily. "I won't teach her." Leo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm afraid she's been traumatized by a sword. I don't want to risk upsetting her more."

Raph nodded, looking over at Emily, who was talking to Mikey. He knew his brother was right. "I'll teach her something else. Knives maybe. I don't think sai is the best idea either. It reminds her too much of her past. I can teach her the new stuff soon if ya want me to."

Leo nodded absentmindedly. "Go ahead. Just keep her safe."

Raph nodded and walked back to Emily, gently touching her shoulders. "We're gonna take some days off, okay?"

Emily looked up at him in question, but saw the concern in his eyes. "Alright. I hope you guys haven't changed your mind about teaching me to fight like you guys."

"Not a chance." He smiled, ruffling up her hair.

The next two days were pure relaxation. Emily was back to almost normal and Raph decided to try teaching her something new. He knew a bit about knives, especially throwing them. And Emily had the arm strength to really hurl them. Unfortunately, none of the brothers had throwing knives, so he sent Casey out to get some. That night, he returned with six small but perfect throwing knives.

Emily was ecstatic. She jumped up and hugged Casey tightly, holding him around the neck. "Thank you!" she practically sang.

Raph whistled as he examined them. "How much did ya get 'em for?" Emily was thinking along the same lines and went to the table in the living room and grabbed her wallet, thick with recent prize money. She had a good deal in a shoebox under her bed. But she never used it. She never had a reason. This was a good reason.

But Casey walked over to her and pushed the wallet back onto the table. "It didn't cost me anythin'. I told the guy who they were for he gave 'em to me for free. He's a big fan of ya and won a lot on that last fight." He laughed, patting Emily on the back. "I did too, for the record."

Emily laughed along with him and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, Case."

That night, Raph started teaching her. The basics of holding and carrying knives. And how to hit and not kill, just like he and Leo did. But also how to hit and kill, like he and Leo had to from time to time.

She excelled. More than she had with Mikey, more than with Don, more than with him in the beginning. She was a natural.

He trained with her for three days, eventually teaching her how to throw, and she picked that up just as quickly. He gave her one night off, knowing she earned it. He was proud of her. The next morning, he was helping her throw, but she seemed to be having an off day, taking a longer time to aim and throw, and not all the shots were hitting like before.

"Go ahead and take a break, Em." Raph sighed, a bit worried about her performance.

"Sure Raph." She sighed, wiping the sweat off of her forehead. "Something tells me that if a Foot ninja stood still for that long, something really freaky is going on." She joked and bent down to pick up her water bottle.

In doing so, Raph saw some blood-stained wrappings on her back when her shirt rode up. "Em, what happened there?" he walked up and touched the bandages.

Emily hissed through her teeth when he touched her. "It's nothing, Raph. I fell on some broken glass going down the ladder. No big deal."

But Raph didn't believe her. He followed the raised line of the bandages under her shirt and found it ran a good twelve inches across her back. "Em, you don't have to lie to me." He told her reassuringly. He knew she had snuck out to see her father the night before.

"It's nothing, Raph." She said again, only louder.

Again, Raph didn't believe her. "No it isn't. Broken glass, probably; sewer ladder, I don't think so." He gripped her shoulder with one hand so she wouldn't squirm and slowly pulled up the edge of one of the bandages with the other. A thick gash meandered its way along the tan skin of Emily's back and was still bleeding. "You need to have this stitched up." He growled.

"No, I can't. Don will freak out." Emily shot back, slipping out of his grasp.

"Don ain't even here; he's on patrol. I'll stitch you up. Now let's go." He kept his voice slightly hard as he walked quickly to his brother's laboratory.

He beat Emily there and got to work pulling out the medical supplies from the various drawers and cabinets Don had them stashed in. That's when Emily begrudgingly entered the room. Raph heard the rustle of fabric behind him and the slight creak of the cot as Emily laid her light weight onto it. After pouring the antiseptic onto some cotton, he turned around to get to work. But what he saw almost made him drop what he had in his hands.

Emily's t-shirt lay discarded at the foot of the cot, and she was on her stomach with her head resting on her arms. Raph could see all the toned muscles of her back move whenever she took a steady breath, and he could see the definite curve from her hips to her waist that had always been covered by her baggy clothes. And he could see parts of the curves higher up on her chest around her arms.

He swallowed the lump that was rising in his throat and got to work. He took off the blood-stained bandages and threw them away. Dabbing the antiseptic onto the ragged skin, he heard her hiss in pain and saw the muscles of her back tighten up. "What I don't' get," he started, trying to break the silence and distract himself from the sight before him. "Is how you can beat me almost every day, but an old drunk can mess you up this bad." He walked back to the table to throw away the cotton and grab the needle and thread.

"That's because I don't fight back with my father. I don't want to hurt him." She told him, wincing when he began to sew the wound shut.

He barked out a laugh without humor, "Don't want to hurt him? Are you crazy, Em?" he shook his head sadly and returned to his work. When he was nearly done, he started talking again. "How'd it happen?"

"He still had the beer bottle in his hand when I went to see him." She sighed and began to sit up when Raph had tied the knot in the string.

He looked up at the ceiling again and clenched his fist. "Has this happened before?" He was losing more and more control over leaving Emily there and going to her house to deal with her father.

"Yes." She whispered softly.

That's when Raph lost it. He jerked open the door with a murderous look in his caramel eyes. "Stay here, Emily." He hissed.

"No Raph!" Emily shouted, grabbing his wrist. "Please, Raphael, don't do anything! Whatever he's done he's still my father."

"He doesn't deserve your concern." Raph growled, not jerking his hand away, knowing Emily was right. "He doesn't even deserve to be called your father."

Emily sighed, knowing his temper was back to a simmer and her father was safe for know. She let go of his wrist and walked back to the bed to grab her shirt. Looking at the clock, she saw that Casey and April would be there soon. "Why don't you talk this out with Case when he gets here?"

"Fine." He snapped and stalked off to his room.

After the two humans and other three brothers had gotten back to the lair, the customary five pizza boxes were massacred. Most had gone back to the living room to talk and play Mikey's games. "Case, I need to talk to ya'." Raph told him as they walked to the living room.

"Sure Raph." Casey nodded, still walking behind April to join the other brothers and Emily.

Raph rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alone." He hissed.

Casey shrugged his shoulders under his black leather jacket and followed Raph out the lair and down a block or so of sewer tunnels. "What's eating you, bro?"

"Emily is." He groaned, leaning against the wall and running his hand across his smooth head. "She's driving me crazy!"

Casey took a spot leaning against the opposite wall and crossed his arms in front of him. He knew his friend, and right now he just needed someone to talk to that wouldn't judge or criticize him very much. "How can our feisty little Em drive you crazy? I thought you two were like two peas in a pod."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raph laughed. He couldn't see anything that he and Emily had in common.

Casey chuckled and shook his head at Raph's ignorance. "You two are dynamite by a fallen candle, you can kick butt without trying, and when you do something you go all the way. And last but not least, you are more loyal than April's new Retriever."

Raph growled but didn't comment. "But we're even more different. She has compassion, she has tolerance, she is so hard-headed, and she is making me so conflicted." He slammed his fist against the wall behind him.

"Raphael, conflicted about a girl? This is going to be interested. Come on, bro, spit it out." Casey chuckled.

Raph nodded and looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "She's strong enough to be my equal, but she's weak enough to need my protection. She's shown me that she's a lot more vulnerable than even you know. And she's driving me nuts! My insides are getting all twisted up with some of the things she does." He paused and looked to see if Casey was laughing yet, which he wasn't. "Last month, she told me about her father, and she had started crying. So I sat down next to her and held her until she calmed down. And when she did, she leaned up and kissed my cheek for crying out loud!" Raph threw up his hands helplessly. "And just today, we went to Don's lab so I could stitch up a nasty cut she got. And instead of rolling her shirt up, she took it off! She was so small, and curvy, and her skin looked so soft. I could barely think straight." Raph sighed yet again and sunk to the ground, shaking his head sadly at himself.

"Whoa, she took her shirt off?" Casey pushed off the wall and walked over to Raph.

"I could only see her back and a bit of her chest." Raph growled. "Emily isn't like that, Casey." He reminded him harshly.

Casey held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. But, over protective much?" Raph looked up to glare at him. "Fine. You want my opinion? You're fallin' for her. That's what I think. What you've been saying is exactly how I felt with April."

"What?" Raph croaked. "But she's a human!"

"A very attractive human." Casey corrected. "But who did you think you were going to fall for? A mutated turtle-girl that appears in New York out of nowhere?"

Raph shot up and started pacing the sewer. "No." he whispered. "I won't do that to her." At that he turned on his heels and walked quickly back to the lair and tried in vain to forget everything that Casey had told him.

**-Simultaneously in another corner of the nearby sewer system-**

"Ugh! I don't know what to do with him." Emily whined as she kicked a rock with the side of her boot.

April laughed slightly from behind her. "I know he's a pain in the neck, but I thought you two would be getting along just fine."

"I _think _we are, but we might be too different to get along. He's good at all of this stuff, he's caring, he's loyal, and he is so overprotective that he sometimes makes me feel like I need his protection." She huffed and slumped against the wall.

April joined her against the wall. "Are we talking about the same Raphael? You said he was caring and over-protective, that's not the Raph I know."

Emily looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "He's always taking care of me, training me, patching me up, and annoying me to the middle of next week. And all the while he makes my stomach do back flips whenever he smiles at me. And I've made some stupid mistakes around him. I kissed him on the cheek last month in some way of saying thank you. And today I took my shirt off in front of him so he could patch up a gash on my back."

"You did _what_ in front of Raph?" April gasped.

"He only saw my back." Emily said sheepishly, recalling the feel of his smooth fingers moving across her back.

April started outright laughing when she saw her friend standing there looking absolutely smitten. "You're in love with him." She finally managed to spit out.

"I am…not." Emily tried to shout. But towards the end of her outburst, she realized that April might have been right.

**Hey guys!**

**It's C M here.**

**I hope I didn't excite you guys too much about a new chapter.**

**Reading through the story online, I realized that I didn't put the whole intro to this chapter onto the site. **_**OOPS!**_** I'm sorry, my dear, wonderful, amazing readers. But I am human. And I am a tired human. **

**And, I promise, I'm working on Chapter 12!**

**Sincerely,**

**C M  
idkaname**

**P.S: I have a poll up on my profile page for a possible "sequel" (I use that word loosely, and you will see why if you look at the poll). I would GREATLY appreciate it if my amazing readers could give me their two cents. Because it will determine the future of the my take on our reptilian brothers!**


	10. Chapter 10

Emily was nervous to look Raph in the face after talking with April, but she didn't have to worry. When they got back, Raph was nowhere to be found. Casey was back, sitting on the couch and saving a seat for April, but the one person Emily was thinking about at that time was not there.

And that worried her.

She grabbed her sweater and carefully put it on, heading outside, only a quick glance to Splinter, who had come out of the dojo after Emily had jogged back down the stairs. He had heard or seen none of what happened, but he knew. Something was wrong with Raph. And after what had happened before, they both thought the worst.

She grabbed the knives and tied them around her thin left thigh. She had gained weight during her time with the brothers and now only weighed a handful of pounds over one hundred. But she could pack a punch. She searched the sewers she knew, and could not find him. She even ventured outside what she knew, but he was nowhere to be found.

This it suddenly occurred to her, 5th and Madison. It was a long walk, but he was there when she climbed the fire escape, sitting in the same corner he had been the last time she met him up there. His eyes were on the ground, his hands clasped in front of him. "Hey, Em." He sighed, not even looking up.

"Hey, Raph." She answered quietly. Walking over to him, she kneeled in front of him. "What's wrong, big guy?"

He looked up with a sad smirk. "Just thinkin'. What brings ya up here?"

She smiled a small but friendly little tilt of the lips. "Just thinkin'." She mocked gently. "Actually, I've been looking for you for almost an hour."

"Ya didn't have to look for me. I can find my own way home." Raph sighed, looking away from her again.

She touched his arm gently. "Sorry, Raph, I just got worried. I still remember that Foot guy. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I can take care of a Foot soldier. A Foot Ninja too for that matter." He stood up and walked away from her. "Go back to the lair, Em. You're the one that can't take on a Foot soldier. Go home."

That was the last straw on the camel's back. Emily stalked over to Raph and stood in front of him, her temper boiling over. "You want the truth? I came up here because I was worried about you stupid, selfish, arrogant, son of a…"

"What did you say?" Raph shouted back at her vehemently. "I came up here to think about a way to keep your perfect little world happy! I am doing everything I can not to ruin your life, so just go home!"

Emily was fed up. Absolutely fed up. Between realizing she loved the person who drove her up the wall half the time, finding out that he was gone, and then having the object of her affections not appreciate her efforts at all, she was surprised she hadn't punched him yet. But she did slap him in the face. "Fine, I'll go home! I will go back to that safe haven that you are going to screw up wither way. I came up here because for some reason I love you! Did you hear that Raphael? I love you! Now leave me alone." That's when the tears started streaming down her face, burning on her cheeks. She quickly walked off towards the fire escape, but Raph grabbed her arm tightly, tight enough for her to call out a little in shock and pain.

"Not so fast, Emily. Ya think you're the only one here who cares? Why do ya think I'm up here? I'm tryin' to figure out if I can deal with seein' ya every day and ignorin' the fact that ya mean somethin' to me! Em, I care 'bout ya too much to see ya get hurt, but I gotta say this. I love ya, but this ain't right. I wanna be with ya. I'd give anythin' to be with ya. But ya deserve better than me. I don't want ya stuck down in that sewer wit' me. Ya could have a life up here!" he opened his arms to the city lights. "Ya could find another guy that ya could fall in love wit'. Have a family up here. I can't give ya any of that no matter how much I love ya. For both of us, let's move on. We aren't made for each other. And let' just leave it at that."

Emily's tears stopped themselves out of sadness. "Alright. We can move on."

"Agreed."

"Good night, Raphael."

"Good night, Emily."

She didn't sleep. She didn't eat breakfast the next morning. She was just empty inside. A pep talk from April was the only thing that dragged her out of her room. But straight to the dojo. Heavy bags were better than therapists. They didn't judge and they didn't make assumptions about what was wrong.

Pizza was the only thing that dragged her away, but then she was right back. But Raph was in the dojo, waiting for her with his arms crossed. "Come on, Em. The guys and I were talkin', we might just bring ya with us out on patrol next week. But ya got a lot to learn first."

Training was difficult that day, the shouted confessions from the night before still fresh in their minds. But they had agreed to move on, for everyone's sake. But Emily couldn't meet his eyes without a pang of guilt and a sharp stab of need. The one thing she wanted had come into her grasp just long enough for it to be yanked back.

They weren't meant for each other. Emily knew that. But she could still dream.

Raph had condemned himself to a future without his one distraction. A life alone, without the little spark of love he had been trying to kindle. But his body still craved to see her smile and to feel her gentle touch.

They were both distracted, especially Emily. And it didn't take long for Emily to get pinned, but she still struggled, throwing her weight around underneath Raph's inconsiderate grip.

"Give up, Em." Raph hissed; his hot breath on her neck.

She bucked against him, her chest and stomach hitting his warm plastron. "No." she growled, feeling his fingers tighten on her arms and her shoulders scratched as they dug into the bamboo mat. She hissed from the sharp pain, her body rising up from the floor as she struggled to get free.

His body finally realized that her small form was pressed against his, her body warm and struggling underneath his hands as his face was close to her neck, her warm and beautiful scent overwhelming his senses. Then his mind succumbed to what he really desired. He lowered his body on top of hers, feeling each muscle of Emily's body move. His lips found her ear again, his breath catching in his throat.

"Emily," he whispered huskily, feeling her struggles stop. "Em, I need you." He didn't know why he was giving away his only secret left, but he had to. He needed her.

She gasped a breath, her arms reaching around to touch his. "But, Raph," she mumbled. "You said…" her eyes frantically searched his.

"I know what I said."

He kissed her hard, his lips forming on top of hers. She couldn't help but moan from the unexpected pleasure. His hands released her shoulders and he rested his forearms on either side of her head. Emily wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling that much closer to him. Raph took the next step, his tongue tracing the outside of her lips. Her mouth responded, opening her lips. His tongue was cool and smooth and went straight after hers. It was a war for territory which Emily won. She rolled on top of him, pinning him to the ground and pushing her body against his.

Raph smiled, bringing her head back down to him and kissing her deeply and roughly. It wasn't long before Raph pushed Emily off of him, pinning her to the wall. His hands roamed her body, touching what he had only dreamed about. And she let him, her own hands busy with his mask.

He just kept wanting more. His hands dropped to the backs of her thighs and lifted her up, pressing his body even tighter to hers. That's when Emily felt the growing heat pushing against her. "Raph," she whispered after pushing him off of her a little. "Raph, what are you doing?" she searched his face, now free of his red bandanna.

He looked down at her, taking in every freckle and every stray strand of black hair and took a deep breath. "What I said last night was true, Em." He took a deep breath, raising one hand to her cheek. "I love ya, I really do. The only thing I said last night that wasn't true was when I said I could move on. Emily, I can't close my eyes without seein ya. You're drivin me crazy, Em. I need ya, and you're willin, I'll prove it to ya tonight."

Emily was speech less, but her heart was racing. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. "I'm willing." She whispered, gently touching his face. "I need you too. I can't be without you either, Raphael." She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his, feeling him exhale gently. He was happy. "What do you want, Raph?" she whispered as she smiled, touching her lips to his gently.

"You." He whispered back. Raph adjusted his hold on Emily, supporting her with one arm as his tongue worked its way between her lips again. He made the quick climb up the stairs and to his room faster than he ever had before. Setting Emily on the bed, he broke away for a bit. "Em, ya sure?" he asked, staring at her glistening lips and avoiding staring down at her body.

"I'm sure." She told him gravely, handing him his mask and sliding into his lap. Raph dropped it to the floor, pulling Emily tight to him.

She pulled off her shirt, a sight he had seen before, but not from the front. Next came what he had only dreamed of, her grey sports bra soon joined her shirt on the floor. It was seconds before Raph pulled her out of her jeans and forced her onto her back on the bed, his lips and tongue hot on her neck. With the help of Emily's feverish hands, Raph peeled off his battle gear and climbed on top of Em, guiding her hands to where he wanted to be touched.

Hands explored and lips mingled as moans turned to gasps and two became one.

Emily awoke the next morning with Raph's arms fixed around her waist, one leg hooked around his. Her body was sore, but she didn't mind. She had never been closer or felt more in love than the night before. And it was still a shock that it had been Raph, the one who was usually averted to emotional displays, had told her that he loved her many times, even as they were both falling asleep.

Raph. His eyes were still closed, his mouth hanging open slightly as he slept soundly. His arms were flexed, showing off his impressive muscles. The same muscles, Emily reminisced, she had traced with her fingertips throughout the previous night. She smiled at the memory and gently kissed Raph on the lips, feeling him stir beneath her.

"Good morning, sleepy head." She laughed softly as his eyes slowly opened.

He chuckled and kissed her quickly. "I don't think I've ever seen ya this happy to be awake."

She feigned annoyance and crossed her arms on his chest. "Whatever. So, did you enjoy yourself last night?"

"Of course, did ya?"

Emily was just about to answer when the door was thrown open, Mikey walking in without pause. "Hey, Raph, Splinter wanted us…" his mouth kept moving but now words came out. He saw Emily on his brother's chest, the blue blanket down to her hips, exposing her scarred back, her completely uncovered back with his brother's arms wrapped around her waist.

"Michelangelo…" Raph growled, murder in his eyes.

**I'm back! **

**Know this is very quick succession, but I've had the writer's bug (I think I caught it from my boyfriend). **

**But here it is. And I know I kinda rushed into things, but this is how it felt it should play out to me. Any complaints? Send me a review and I will explain and defend my reasoning. **

**So…any thoughts about how Raph will try to kill him little brother?**

**Any Questions…Comments…Concerns? Send me a review or a PM.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Sincerely,**

**C M  
idkaname**


	11. Chapter 11

Mikey ran. Faster than he ever had before. He slammed the door and ran down stairs, sliding into his seat at the table, his heart pounding and his breath coming quickly. He was scared for his life, twice over. Two of the five scariest people he had ever met were going to try to kill him. He knew it.

And he didn't like it.

He ignored Don's and Leo's glances as he hid behind the cereal box, pretending to be fascinated by the nutrition information while he contemplated how he would meet his fate. Maybe a broken neck. Maybe bludgeoned to death. Maybe strangled from behind with Em's shoe lace. No matter what way, he was going to die.

He heard one set of footsteps come down the steel stairs. It had shoes on, making little soft thuds on each step.

Emily.

He braced for the shouts, for the blows, for his imminent death.

"Morning," she greeted the boys, taking her seat at the table.

Mikey slowly glanced up from behind the box. Don handed her a plate of waffles and nudged the syrup across the table. "Morning, Em." He greeted back.

Another set of footsteps coming down the stairs. Everyone else was already at the table so it was obviously Raph. Maybe death would come from his second eldest brother.

Raph shuffled into the kitchen, pulling out his customary seat between Emily and Don. He was also passed a plate of waffles and Emily handed him the syrup. Only Mikey seemed to notice how he gently touched her hand with his own and how their eyes lingered on each other longer then what was normal.

After a few moments of silence, Splinter, who was uncharacteristically sitting at the table, cleared his throat. "Emily, I have come to a decision." Everyone watched him silently. "You are ready to join my sons on the surface. You are not as, traditional, as they are, but you are strong. A strong fighter and strong woman. And wiser than most. Perhaps it will help Leonardo to have you on the outside with him."

Emily brightened, fighting the urge to look over at Raph. His father did not need to know what his son had done the night before. "Are you sure, Master Splinter?"

He nodded slowly. "You still have much to learn. But you are ready. Tonight, you will go out with my sons to learn in the act." At that he got up and walked slowly back to his room.

Everyone was speechless. All eyes turned to Emily, who was sitting there in shock. Leo broke the silence, clapping her on the shoulder. "Congrats, Em!" he smiled.

Raph gave her a sideways hug, repeating his brother's sentiments. Don came up behind her and ran his hand over her hair, saying he was proud to know her and he was proud of her. Even Mikey couldn't hide forever and he gave her a high-five and a congratulations.

Leo almost immediately turned solemn. "Em, this will be completely different than your training. You can and might very well be hurt. We can protect you, but not forever. And worrying about you will put us in danger."

"I get it, Leo. I'll be careful." Emily sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Do you?" Leo asked. "You will follow Mikey and I tonight." He delegated, getting up to put his dishes in the sink.

Raph stood as well, his chair screeching back on the worn laminate. "No, she's not. She's comin with me and Don." He countered gruffly, his hand tightening on the back of his chair.

"Why?" his older brother countered, looking at him strangely. "I am the leader, and I will make the decision."

"But I've been the one protecting her! I've been there with her through all this! I'm not letting her out of my site the first night she's topside with us." He growled, daring Leo to challenge him.

But his brother only nodded. "You have a point." Taking a breath, he looked between the two. "She'll go with you."

Raph nodded, putting his dishes in the sink and beginning to walk to the stairs when he heard another chair scratch back quickly. "Don't I get a choice?" Emily shouted. "Isn't this my safety we're talking about?" she shouted again, glaring between Leo and Raph.

Leo held up his hands placidly. "We are thinking about your safety. We just need to fit you in with our patrol groups."

Emily through up her hands and stormed up to her room, blowing past Raph, who had tried to reach out to her. Her boots pounded on the stairs and her door slamming shut could be heard clearly in the kitchen, sending a cringe down Raph's spine. He had wanted this morning to be good, especially because of the night before. But now his temper was flaring. Why did she have to set herself off over something that made so much sense?

Raph took the stairs quickly after her, not even bothering to knock on the door, just pulling it open and nearly slamming it behind him. "What was that about?" he nearly shouted at her. "That was an honor, and I just want to protect you!"

Emily snapped her head around, glaring up at Raph. "I get that. I just wish you guys had given me a choice. I would have chosen you anyways, Raph. But you do not make decisions for me. No one does except for me. Get that through your thick skull sooner than later." She snapped, getting up in Raph's face as best as she could despite their height differences.

He glared right back. "Not every decision is yours to make." He growled. "Ya don't get to make every choice. Some things are out of ya control. Did you make the call when them guys killed Austin!" he shouted, knowing he was about to start a fight. He almost relished the idea.

"Why would you even go there?" she seethed, a few tears pricking at her eyes. "I'm just tryin to stand up for myself!" she shouted

Raph started advancing on her, driving her against the back wall with every step. "But sometimes ya don't know what ya doin, whatcha asking. I know. We know." Emily was against the wall, refusing to look away from Raph's angry caramel eyes. His arms shot out to the wall, caging her in. In a split second, his eyes softened and his head drooped, the fight out of his blood. "What am I supposed ta do if ya wind up like Austin, because a somethin I coulda stopped?"

All Emily could do was look at him. He was right. She was acting like she knew what was best, but she didn't. "Next time," she told him quietly, reaching up to gently touch his face. "Ask me first."

"Deal." He smirked slightly, leaning in to kiss her.

It was amazingly gentle, but both felt the need to say sorry without the damage to their pride of actually saying it. Emily pushed his bandana off, enjoying seeing his whole face and let Raph wrap his arms around her waist. After what seemed like forever, they broke apart; in a much better mood than before.

Emily smiled and kissed him quickly before grabbing his bandana and tying it back on for him. "Come on, let's get training." She walked quickly to her door and out into the hallway, Raph's eyes on her the whole time.

**I'm back!**

**Sorry this chapter has taken SOOOO long, but school is school and it's been a crack-down up until lately. (*grumble in the corner about AP Exams*)**

**Sorry it's kinda short, but I'm getting rolling into it again. The next chapter will be action-packed…I promise. **

**So…Questions? Comments? Concerns? Quips? Quibbles? Quandaries? Conundrums? **

**(One of my bosses does that all the time, couldn't help it!)**

**But if you've got one (or another synonym for question), shoot me a review or PM.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Sincerely,  
C M  
(idkaname)**


	12. Chapter 12

It was down-pouring as Emily sat crouched on the low wall of a roof top. Her black hair, recently cut short to the bottom of her chin, was drenched and hanging down in her face. Her black leather jacket, a hand-me-down from Casey, felt like it weighed ten pounds instead of one and half. Her skinny jeans had started dark blue when she left the lair but now were black; black as the rest of everything she wore. Her blue eyes were shadowed by a green bandana tied around her face. She looked like a Marvel knock off of the opening scene of every single Underworld movie.

She sat perfectly still, watching a back door illuminated under the halo of a security light in the dark of the late summer storm.

A quick burst of static in her ear preceded the voice of Don, who was hidden away in Casey's van a few blocks away. "Raph's position just cleared out. He's coming to you. Go ahead and come back to the car. I know you're cold and wet."

"Uh-uh." She whispered after pressing the response button on her ear-piece. "I'm out here as long as you guys are out here. I'm one of…" she cut off as she heard a light thud behind her on the roof top. Out of the shadows came a saturated Raph, walking silently to her side as the rain bounced off his smooth green skin. "I'm one of you guys, remember. If you're out in the rain, I'll be in the rain."

Raph came up behind her, his arms snaking around her waist and his lips finding the sensitive spot at the underside of her jaw, a small growl coming out as he claimed his rightful territory.

Don came back on the ear-piece. "You okay, kiddo? Usually your witty responses come out a little smoother than that."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She whispered breathily, pushing Raph, whose hands had begun to explore, away from her. "Raph just got here and he startled me a little."

Raph gave a throaty chuckle as his hands returned to her body.

"Alright. I'll give you a heads up when we're giving up for tonight."

"Hon, we're turtles. We're designed to be in the water." The silence was resounding for a brief second before Raph took advantage of her tired muscles. Picking her up, he had her in his arms against his body before she had a chance to react. His lips were hot against hers and his hands clutched her close as she responded in kind. She had been going topside with them for almost a month. She had been sleeping with Raphael for almost a month. But no one except for Mikey, who had terrified himself into secrecy, knew. Raph's insatiable appetite, however, was making it hard to conceal it.

Raph got as far as grabbing the button on her jeans before she whispered for him to stop. He did so begrudgingly, still holding her against his body so she got the sense of how disappointed he was. "Come on, babe. No one's out here." He whispered huskily into her ear.

"The rain is out here." She smirked before cuddling up against Raph's chest. "I promise I'll make it up to you when we get home.

The hum of satisfaction reverberated in Raph's throat as he allowed Emily to disentangle himself from him and go back to the ledge. He came to sit beside her, his fingers gently touching her hand and running through her soaked hair. Another hour passed before Don's voice came back through the ear-pieces. "Alright, guys. The sun's almost up. Let's head home."

Emily's stiff muscles begrudgingly moves as she climbed off the ledge, taking Raph's outstretched hand before following his lead to the fire escape. They climbed quickly and silently, Raph dropping to the pavement first ad holding out his arms to catch Emily. An unneeded gesture, but one of the chivalrous actions he kept up when they were alone. She slid off the last platform, bracing to catch herself of his should; but that never came. Her feet hit the pavement with a loud thud and her legs were unable to withstand the shock, giving out beneath her and sending her to the ground at an alarming pace. Her outstretched arm narrowly saved her head from impact. Just before she began to complain, she heard the footsteps rushing out of the shadows.

Quickly getting to her feet, she readied her fists and feet to defend herself and Raph. It was a small Foot soldier, not much taller than her, who ran at her with abandon. He was stopped short after impact with a well placed side-kick to his gut. Raph was not as fortunate as he was barraged by two older, well trained Foot ninjas. Emily came up behind him with one of her knives drawn in a defensive position and waited for them to see her. Within moments it was now a one on one fight; much more fare for Emily and Raph, who put the men on the ground in a matter of minutes.

Raph's hurried steps took him to her side within moments, one hand finding the small of her back to pull her close while the other rested on the side of her face. "Are you okay, Em?"

She nodded, intertwining her fingers with his. "My ankle hurts from the fall, but I'm okay."

Raph nodded back, holding her hand tightly in his and walking to the manhole, pressing his ear piece as he did. "They saw us. We got ambushed. Three guys, they're all out now."

"Get here safe, you two."

The walk was longer than usual because the more Emily walked, the more her ankle hurt. Raph had to support most of her weight on her left side by the time they got the lair. Don attacked them first, taking Emily off of Raph and into his custody, leading her straight to his lab. Leo took his place, slowly approaching his second in command. "Did they hurt her?"

Raph shook his head, dislodging water droplets onto the floor. "It was the fall off the fire escape. She got distracted by the Foot and landed hard, then ran one of the younger ones onto her side-kick." His eyes lingered on the hallway Don and Emily had walked down.

"Do you think they knew who she was?"Leo asked, the concern for Emily he carried weighing his voice down to somber notes.

Again he shook his head and abruptly walked to the lab, not being able to stand the distance between himself and his lover. Emily lay cringing on the cot, her pants rolled up to her knee, and Don was rubbing and poking various breakable locations of her ankle and foot. Her exposed leg, even after living underground for months, still maintained the slight golden color she had when she met the brothers.

Don's fingers found the tender spot as Emily sucked in a hiss through her clenched teeth and curled her slender hands into fists. It was difficult for Raph to see her in pain, and it took almost all of his self restraint not to reach out to her, to touch her, or to comfort her. He was slightly ashamed of the softness Emily had evoked from him, but he deemed it worth it.

Within an hour, Don had Emily's ankle wrapped with two solid supports to keep her ankle stable and April had returned with old crutches she had used after a broken leg. Since the two women were almost the same height, Don needed to do very little adjusting to fit them to Emily.

Her attempts at hobbling around with an almost fractured ankle were not as simple. After only an hour of walking around, Raph hovering inches beside her in case of a fall, her shoulders were sore, her intact ankle was sore, and she was dreading climbing up the stairs to go to bed.

After dinner and the brothers had had their beers, Raph saw Emily struggling up the metal stairs. Without concern for what the others saw or what they thought, he caught up to her and took her up in his arms, cradling her head against his chest, and draping the crutches over one wrist. "Ya should have asked for help." He whispered into her ear, feeling the eyes of his brothers boring into his back as he walked into her room, kicking the door shut behind him.

Kisses descended upon her gently and softly as he asked all the questions he had been dying to. Asking if she was alright, if she was in pain, and what he could do to help. All Emily could do was shake her head and nod and hold his hands still from touching her face constantly. She finally convinced him to allow her to sleep after nearly an hour of reassuring him.

The brothers and Splinter slept through the night peacefully, though Raph found his bed cold and lonely without Emily by his side. A little after two in the morning, Emily was woken from her sleep by the creaking of her door. Thinking it was Raph, she rolled towards the door with a stretch and a smile. But it was not Raph.

Her arms were clamped above her head and a gag was tied over her mouth. A pair of shadowy figures grabbed her by the arms and legs and pulled her out of the bed, kicking and trying to scream. The three men slipped out of the lair as quickly and quietly as they had come in, dragging Emily with them. As they reached the door to the sewers, Emily managed to loosen the gag.

"Raph!" she screamed as loud as she could before she was grabbed roughly by the throat and the gag returned.

Raph shot up in his bed, his hands reaching for Emily only to remember she had not gone to bed with him that night. He reached instead for his sai and ran to Emily's room. Empty. The blankets were thrown the floor and the contents of her bed side table strewn across the floor. "Emily!" he shouted, running down the stairs in frenzy, his brothers following. The door to the lair had been taken off its hinges and the water in the sewer was still rippling. Without second thought, Raph took off running down the sewer, trying to catch up to the people that had taken Emily away from him.

He found the open manhole and shot up the ladder just as a black town car peeled away. Raph sank to his knees on the pavement, his fists pounding on the ground, hot tears rolling down his eyes. He had sworn to himself to protect her months ago. From anything that could hurt her. But she had been taken from their home, from him.

And he could do nothing.


	13. Chapter 13

Emily had no sense of time or location. She would be roused from half sleep by being dragged out of the cell and thrown into the lab. She was usually anesthetize and would be woken up when she was thrown back into the cell. Sometimes they tried to question her. Sometimes they tested her for contact with the brothers' mutagen. She was fed once a day, but she rarely ate it. She only continued to attempt to survive because she hoped and prayed for Raph to find her and save her from this torment. After what she thought was a week, she doubted rescue was coming. She knew she was taken by the Foot, but she knew that the people around her were not Foot. That severely cut her chances of being found. All she could do was continue to hope and pray.

Raph ran silently across the rooftops, his breath barely making a whisper. His face was hard and expressionless, a statue headed for a quiet neighborhood. He slowed as he reached the familiar skylight and climbed down the fire-escape into the second floor office. It was pitch black and silent in the room, but Raph could hear the sounds of the last class from the main gym.

The main room became quiet ten minutes later and the metal doors to the rest of the building were locked. A single set of slow footsteps walked towards the office. Raph tensed beside the filing cabinet, preparing himself to be seen by an outsider. He prepared for the curses for the insults, for the fear.

Mr. Potter flicked on the light in his office, his arms full of gear that needed to be duct taped back into submission. He glanced up after a few seconds and steps into his office, his eyes falling on Raph, motionless in the corner.

"Who…what…what…" he stumbled backwards and dropped the gear, his hands raising up in the air.

Raph also held up his hands, slowly. "Mr. Potter, my name is Raphael, but Emily calls me Raph."

"Emily?" The brief mention of his would be daughter who had been missing for over a week stopped him in his tracks. "You know Emily?"

Raph nodded. "I know she told ya she left her father's place and was livin' with friends. My brothers and I, we're those friends."

"She…lives with you? What are you?"

Raph motioned for him to sit down as he took a seat not far from him and began to tell him about his entire past, from his first memories of Splinter telling them of the ooze and stopping with his introduction with Emily in the alley. Mr. Potter was speechless, his eyes glassed over as he stared at Raph. "I'm here," Raph started quietly. "'Cause Emily is missin'."

"Missing? Did she run away? Did her father hurt her? What happ…"

"The Foot took her. I told ya 'bout them. They're tryin' to get to us, we know it." Raph sighed, rubbing his forehead, wincing at the memory of her kidnapping.

Mr. Potter stood up quickly, his chair screeching back. "Are you going to get her back?"

Raph looked up helplessly, letting his shield of stern invincibility fall. Mr. Potter saw the pitiful look in his eyes, saw the desperation in his face. "We've been tryin'. I've been out there every night lookin' for her. Don, the smart one out of us, has been researchin'. I haven't had a night of peace since she was taken. Every time I close my eyes, I hear her scream my name."

Mr. Potter sat back down heavily in his chair. "Does her boyfriend know?"

Raph's face clouded. "Boyfriend?" His mind began to quake with fear. Did she have someone on the side? Was he just a filler, someone to satisfy her physical needs.

He nodded. "She didn't admit it, but she seemed happier than normal, and one of the other girls said she asked her how to look pretty for a guy. I put two and two together. Does he know?"

Raph's heart rate returned to normal. Emily had surprised him with a beautiful shirt, tight jeans, and high heels. She had done up her hair and worn tasteful makeup. She had asked the girl how to look pretty for him. His pulse quickened again as he prepared to tell Emily's mentor she had been sleeping with a giant turtle. "He knows. I wouldn't call him her boyfriend exactly. We haven't gone any dates."

"You're…she…Emily has feelings for you?"

Blood rushed to his cheeks in shame as he nodded. "We've been together for over a month. The only reason she got taken is 'cause she wasn't in my room. She woulda been, but she hurt her ankle and wanted to sleep in her own room."

Mr. Potter nodded. "I should be shocked. Emily is like my daughter, and I had someone different in my mind. But she seems, happy with you, so I have no complaints. But, please, you have to get her back."

"I know." Raph whispered, standing and walking to the window. "We'll keep you in the loop. If I don't come, it'll be a human. Either Casey or April. They'll introduce themselves." Raph hopped out the window and began climbing up the fire escape, turning on his ear piece. "Any leads?" he barked, his gruff façade plastered back over his fear.

Don sighed into his end. "One. I already sent Leo. A friend of ours claims to have heard word about a captive woman."

"Alright."

Raph started the jog back to the lair when his earpiece flared to life. "Raph!" Leo shouted.

"Go for Raph."

"I found her! I found Emily. I know where they have her." Leo was breathless with excitement.

"Where?" Raph growled into the earpiece, stopping dead in his tracks.

"East Side, 15th and 10th. Don't run in, I'm on the roof looking over it."

Raph took off running, leaping over the gaps between alleys. After over a week, he would save Emily, have her in his arms again. Within minutes, he was panting at his brother's side, overlooking a nondescript warehouse. "Are ya sure?" he gasped, exhausted from his sprint.

Leo nodded. "Reliable source says she's here with minimal security. I think the two of us can take it." Standing, he prepared to leap down to the fire escape. "And Raph," he looked over his shoulder. "Fire covers vengeance very nicely."

Raph nodded solemnly and followed him to the fire escape. Leo had given him permission to kill anyone that got in their way. Usually they sought to protect life, but this was an extenuating circumstance. The two ran to an unlit door, testing the door. It was locked, but Leo kicked it in without a moment's hesitation. The two brothers, weapons drawn, rushed through the hallways, impaling and striking countless foot ninjas as they passes, blindly running through hallways. Raph darted down a well lit corridor and kicked open a door into a lab.

Brightly lit with harsh fluorescents, there were IVs, needles, blood bags, microscopes, and x-rays neatly organized throughout the small room. In the center was a medical gurney with leather straps. Glancing around, he saw a familiar ankle injury on one of the x-rays, a slight fracture of the side of the talus. Emily sustained the same injury during her fall from the fire escape the night she was taken. Looking at a table, she saw her name on a file folder. Grabbing it and tucking it into his belt, he took off running down the hallway.

"Raph," Leo murmured into his ear piece. "She's gone."

Raph took off running to the hallway he knew Leo took. The room was barred, with chains attached to one wall. But scratched into the floor was one word, Raphael. Though distorted, it was Emily's curvy handwriting.

Raph cried out in pure rage, bashing his hand against the wall. "Where is she!" he screamed, sinking down to the ground on his knees.

Leo dragged his brother out of the warehouse as he poured gasoline on the floor, lighting it once they were clear. Raph was sobbing as Leo pulled him into the sewer and guided him home. "Raph, I know this is hard on us all, but," Leo took a deep breath, stopping his younger brother. "I know there's something more."

Raph nodded, his body still convulsing from the sobs. "Em and I, we, we're seein' each other. We've been sharin' my bed for about a month. I love her, Leo."

Leo looked at his brother with a sad sigh, pulling him into a tight hug. "We'll find her." He whispered in his brother's ear, giving him another squeeze before leading him back to the lair. Raph handed Don the file he took and went into the dojo to work away his anger. A few hours later, Don came into the dojo nervously.

"Raph, were you and Em, uh, intimate?" He asked tentatively.

He stopped abusing the heavy bag and looked up, startled. "What the.."

"It was in the file." Don rushed. "They said subject was known to be in an intercourse ridden relationship with second mutant. That's you, Raph. They also were disappointed that she didn't have any genetic contribution from you with her at the time of the kidnapping."

Raph nodded. "We've been sleepin' together for a month. We didn't that night 'cause of her ankle. But why were they lookin' for that?" Raph suddenly became suspicious.

Don sighed and held out a paper. "They're trying to create us."

The picture was an analysis of DNA from all four brothers, from a non-mutated red eared slider turtle, and a highlighted sequence that mutated them. The sequence was labeled as a commonly occurring human growth hormone.

Raph was terrified. The Foot under Shredder had already tried to create mutants, but not turtles. "But why do they need Em?"

Don shuffled a little. "As far as I can tell, they're keeping her for three reasons. For contract transfer from us all, especially you, to act as a human shield if we catch them, and it appears they're going to attempt to create the mutation by fusing turtle and human gametes. Emily is the source of the human contribution."

Raph shut down, his mind was blank. They were experimenting on Emily, on his Emily. To try and make more of him. More mutants.

He was a shell going through his daily activities for another week. He only came to life when he dared to look at the picture he kept on his nightstand. A picture of the two together, Emily sitting in his lap with her arms thrown around his neck. He would trace her face and her wavy hair with his finger and hope and pray that she would be back in his arms soon.

**AN: Since no one has bothered to go to my profile to vote on the fate of this series, how about this, just send a review with your two cents. **

**Here's the jist. There will be a book two. The question I am having is whether or not to include Emily. So either she's in it as Raph's love bug or she never existed. **

**Your reviews WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF THIS SERIES!**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Since putting this at the end didn't work, let's try the beginning. **

**I need your advice! I will be writing another TMNT book once this is done, but whether it's a sequel to this or a new book is up to you, my readers!**

**So here are your options: it is either a straight up sequel, Emily as a main character, or it's an entirely new start, Emily never existed. If you chose the second one, Raph will not be the one getting the girl again.**

**So, please, message me, enter into the poll on my profile page, or just leave a review with your two cents. **

**YOUR REVIEWS WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF YOUR READING MATERIAL!**

It had been three weeks since the night they had taken Emily from the lair. Twenty one nights since she had smiled at the brothers, since she had trained with them, since she had patrolled the streets with them. Twenty one nights since Raph had held her hand, since he had kissed her cheek, since he had even seen the love of his life. He was a mess, frazzled, sleepless, argumentative, and pained. The rock supporting a vast refurbishing of his temper had disappeared. His brothers barely spoke to him, afraid to set him off. He worked out for hours on end every day, sweat and tears mixing on his face.

Twenty one nights after she had been taken, Don came to him in the dojo. "Raph," he called quietly. "I got a lead."

It was enough to draw the normal Raph to the surface, to clear his thoughts and give him drive and dedication. There was no doubt about what the lead was about. He thought he knew where to find Emily. "Where?"

"South side, another warehouse district. I found an unusual amount of medical supplies being shipped there. So it's not like we have an informant to leak information. I don't think they'll have time to move her."

Raph nodded, picking up his sai off the ground. "When do we leave?"

"Tonight."

Casey's van took all four brothers and the human vigilant to the suspected location, stopping a few blocks away. Leo laid out the plan. There were five doors, five fighters. Each one would take a door and fight his way into the middle. They could not take Emily out without passing one of them.

Raph had the door in the rear, kicking it open on Leo's command. His hallway was crawling with Foot sentries, but they were quickly dispatched. He kicked in every door and found no sign of Emily, no sign of medical equipment. Towards the end of the hallway, he kicked in a reinforced door and found a lab like the other warehouse. He didn't bother with the paperwork, he just wanted Emily. He heard a scuffle louder than the rest from the middle of the complex. Forgetting his hallway, he ran to support Mikey, who was overwhelmed by the Foot.

The men were beaten back just as Raph kicked open the door they were guarding. Lying on the ground was a woman wrapped in a hospital gown, one arm shackled to the wall, black hair and tan skin surprisingly well kept, her legs and arms even thinner than he remembered. "Emily?" His voice became choked in his throat.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, bruised and puffy. "Raph?" she whispered, hoarsely, dryly. She was not aware.

He rushed into the room and took her up in his arms, crushing her to his chest. "Em, it's me, it's Raph. I'm here."

Clarity came to Emily's eyes as she began to sob, clinging to Raph with only the strength of a child. "Raph, oh, Raph. Please get me out of here, please."

Raph nodded and gently kissed her cheek, using his sai to break the chain and lifting her into his arms, cradling her tightly against his chest. She was lighter than before, lighter than even their first encounter. She was limp in his arms, sobbing silently against his shoulder in relief as his arms drooped around his neck.

"I got her. Let's go." He spoke into his ear piece as he ran gently back out his door, a hallway he knew was clear. "We're almost home, hon, we're almost home."

Emily passed out on the van ride, her fingers still curled around Raph. Don began looking her over for signs of obvious injury while Raph ran his fingers through her hair, refusing to let her out of his arms. Her ankle had healed improperly and Don feared he would have to re-break to keep from hindering her mobility down the road. She had scarring on her wrists and ankles, most likely from tie downs. There were needle marks on her arms and Don made a mental note to get blood work done by a doctor friend of his.

Emily was taken to the lab and laid out on the cot. She was regaining consciousness and awareness slowly but surely. Raph had gone to her room to grab some close for her and came back down as she opened her eyes again. Gently, he held her hand in his and ran a finger over the back of her hand. "You're safe now, Em. You're home." He gently kissed her forehead as she squeezed his hand. "I'll get her dressed." She told his brothers who had all congregated around the cot. Taking the cue, they left the lab and shut the door.

He eased her out of the hospital gown and saw a myriad of bruises lining her overly pronounced ribs. He slid her clothes onto her gently, kissing her forehead and cheeks murmuring that he was sorry for letting her go, for letting her get taken.

"Shh," she whispered hoarsely, finding his face. "I blame them, not you." Talking was painful for her, but she deemed it worth it. The others were let back in and Raph clung to her hand, stroking her hair. Don gave her a basic physical with a pained expression on his face. She had lost twenty nine pounds, her ankle did in fact need to be re-broken, her wrists were both sprained as well as one of her ankles, her heart rate and blood pressure were irregular, and she was running a fever. Don arranged for Casey to take her to the hospital to a doctor they knew could be trusted. In the mean time, he encouraged Emily to try and move around, to eat and drink, and to try and regain her strength.

Raph refused to let go of her. He was always holding her hand, nuzzling into her shoulder, kissing her softly. He had never had the freedom to do this in front of his family: his brothers, his father, and his friends. He had the freedom to show his care for Emily. Casey was shocked, so were his brothers. They had known him their entire lives as harsh and shrewd. Here he was being kind and gentle and caring.

Emily was distant, absent minded, but responding better and better with each interaction with someone. By time she went to bed, after being carried up to Raph's room in his arms, she was smiling slightly and talking more readily.

The next morning, Raph helped her wash and dress and carried her down the stairs to meet with Casey. She could barely walk and stairs were impossible. He gave her a gentle hug and a kiss on the top of the head. "It's good to have ya back, kid." He carefully led her out of the sewer and to his van, driving her to the hospital.

Professor Perry took his degree and became Doctor Perry. The brothers knew they could go to him if the injury surpassed Don's knowledge and skills. He had been warned ahead of time about what they knew transpired. He had also been warned about which of the brothers had claimed her as his own.

"Ms. Fredricks?" Perry asked as she walked into his office, partially supported by Casey.

She extended a shaky right hand to him. "Emily." She whispered. "I've heard about you from the boys, how you helped them when they were younger."

Perry nodded and helped guide Emily into an examination room. Setting her onto the table, he asked her what happened.

Emily's face turned cold and she shrunk in on herself. "They took me, from our home. They took me to a lab and started testing me. They tested to see if Raph and I had… if we had… slept together that night. They were disappointed that we hadn't. But I had fractured by ankle that night out on the job. They were still able to get his DNA off my skin, off my clothes. Then they started testing me to see if they could find the thing that changed them. Then they started knocking me out. I don't know much of what happened after that."

Perry nodded. "I see. And I've been told Donatello already did a basic physical evaluation. I've also been told the results. So you're here so I can do a more in depth evaluation and take some blood for testing. Uh, Mr. Jones, could you give us some privacy?"

Casey nodded and walked back into the office. Emily was uncomfortable being alone with Perry, but she took a deep breath and tried to be brave. Without Raph by her side, she was nervous enough. Perry's examination was much more invasive, but it was over soon enough. Casey willingly enough took her around the waist to lead her back to the car.

"When do I gotta drag your skinny butt back here?" He smirked, helping her back into the passenger seat.

Sighing, she stretched and situated herself. "Not unless there's a problem. He's faxing the results to Don."

She was asleep by time he made it to the usual parking place to get to the lair. He didn't usually carry people places; he wasn't as brawny as Raph. But Emily was a feather in his arms, her head lolling against his shoulder with a peaceful smile on her face. She was like the little sister he never had, and basically a sister-in-law as far as he was concerned through Raph. They made it back to the lair where Raph practically snatched Emily out of Casey's arms, taking her against his own chest and bringing her up to his—now officially labeled as their—room. He was just as anxious without her as she was without him. Casey couldn't believe the two had survived the past three weeks with their sanity. They cared about each other so much and had already been put through so many trials. As if overcoming their physical differences weren't enough.

Emily progressively returned to herself within a matter of days. She was still unusually skittish, and she still refused to leave whatever room Raph was in unless it was necessary. If there was a sudden noise, she often had a wave of terror flash across her eyes, but she no longer physically recoiled. Within four days, she felt more like herself enough to go to the gym and see Mr. Potter. She especially wanted to go after she was told about Raph's confession.

She made the walk carefully, mostly in the sewer since she wasn't with anyone else. It was obvious at this point the Foot knew who she was, which required extra caution on her part. Emily made it to the gym without event and found Mr. Potter sweeping after the last class. "Hey Mr. Potter." She called quietly from the door.

He looked up from the ground, dropped the broom, and ran to Emily, enveloping her in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay." He murmured into her hair, fighting tears. His wife came down from their connected apartment after she heard Emily's voice. Mr. Potter had told her the majority of what Raph had said. She also enveloped her would be daughter in a tight hug. "What happened to you?" Mr. Potter asked, feeling the bones in her arms and back far more easily than before and seeing Emily walk in with a slight limp.

She sat down her would be parents for the third time she told her story. Mrs. Potter seemed in shock the whole time while Mr. Potter seemed to seethe through clenched teeth. "Don't be mad at the boys, please. They did everything they could. And I need you to like Raph. I don't particularly care if you like the others, but you have to like Raph." Her eyes pleaded with the Potters.

"He's the one that came to tell me." Mr. Potter reminded his wife. Turning to Emily, he continued. "I like that one. I haven't met any of the others. But your boyfriend is safe." He smirked as Emily squirmed under his title for Raph. "He didn't like it when I called him your boyfriend, either." He was chuckling now.

Emily nodded, remembering Raph's recounting of the meeting. "Because it feels like we're something more. We've been together for two months, one of which I was, uh, gone for. But even then and even with what we are, I can barely stand to be here without him."

"Then you should have brought him, dear. I'm sure Alex would like to meet him." Mrs. Potter smiled kindly, warmly.

Watching Mr. Potter, she tried to smile back. "What did Mr. Potter tell you about him?"

"Well, he was tall, muscular, a little gruff until he opened up about what happened, and then it was pretty obvious he's very much in love with you." She was oblivious.

"Maybe one day, Mrs. Potter. Right now, I don't think either of you are ready for that." She smiled innocently. Looking at Mr. Potter, she turned serious. "They know who I am now, so I have to be less public. That means less if any fights."

Mr. Potter nodded, resting his fist against his mouth in thought. "Will they let you out during the day?"

"That's when I'm safest. Why?"

"Help me teach. I'll pay you wages to make up for the lack of fights."

Emily grabbed him in another hug, tight and python like. "Thank you!" She squealed. "When do you want me to start?"

"I'll give you a few weeks more off. You deserve it. You still look terrible." He smiled, holding her tightly.

Emily stayed for a few more minutes, returning home a little after eight. Raph was nervously sitting in the living room, his feet tapping incessantly. As soon as he saw her and saw that she was alright, he stilled and calmed significantly. Without hesitation, she curled into his side to watch the movie the others were watching. Only Don was absent, and she assumed he was in the lab. He had barely stepped out of there since Raph returned with the thick folder.

She heard the phone ring followed by Don shouting from the lab that he'd get it.

"Hello?" Only five people knew the number to the lair. Three of them were in the room.

"Emily? Yes, she's here." Kato didn't know her, so that left Doctor Perry. Emily's stomach dropped and she clung to Raph tightly. Something was wrong.

"Emily," Don called from the kitchen. "Doctor Perry needs to speak to you."

She carefully disentangled herself from Raph and shakily walked to the phone, her heart beating louder than a drum line. "Hello?"

Raph stood and followed her, leaning against the table and gently holding her hand while she stood at the phone.

"Good news or bad news?" So there was something on her blood panel.

"I see." Her voice was wavering and she began to shake.

"You don't know?" Her voice was cracking now, vibrating with emotions. She had to lean against the wall.

"What should…" Her voice had failed her as she shut her eyes, taking a shaky breath.

She nodded slightly to something Perry said. "When can we know?"

"Is that still within…" She was cut off by Perry.

"Alright. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, but it'll take some time." She hung up the phone and sat down in the chair next to Raph, her head resting on the table.

Raph gently rubbed her back. "What did he say?"

"Raph, we need to talk." Emily whispered, visibly shaking.

He led her up the stairs to their room, the one private place they had. Setting her on the bed, he gently held her hands, stroking the backs. He looked down at her patiently, refusing to press her.

"Raphael," A deep breath and sigh, her eyes closed tight and a few tears leaked out. "I'm pregnant."


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Writers bug!**

**Last chance, people. Emily or no Emily?**

**Also…new dilemma…when do you guys want this story to end? I could keep this thing going forever. **

**Well, hope you enjoy.**

"You're…you're…what?" Raph was startled beyond belief. All he knew was that Emily was crying and she had said the word pregnant.

"Pregnant." She whispered.

Raph took a deep breath and took her in his arms tightly. "Wow. This is…huge." He gently kissed the top of her head. "But, how?"

Emily pulled back to look him in the face. "The problem is, we don't know. I don't even know who." Her tears picked up into full blown sobs. Raph gently held her in his arms and let her calm herself down. "I know they have DNA from you four. I also know they tried to fuse human and turtle DNA. I also know that I was unconscious for pretty much two weeks."

He nodded, understanding her conversation over the phone. The baby might be theirs, if it was it was either the product of their love or of the twisted science of the Foot. It might from genes from one of his brothers. It might be fused genes implanted into Emily. It might be the child of a rape she didn't even know happened.

"But I'm too you young to be a mother, I'm not ready for this." Her voice was weak, strained. "And what if it's one of…theirs?" She hissed the last word like it was a curse.

Raph gently kissed her lips, tentatively resting his hand on her abdomen. "Is there a way we can find out if it's ours?"

"A paternity test." She nodded. "But we'd have to wait until I'm nine weeks. Doctor Perry says I'm between two and four weeks."

Raph took his turn to nod. "I take it you have no intentions of…keeping it if it's from them?"

"I don't." she whispered, feeling selfish. "But what if it's from one of the others?"

He was stuck. It may be the product of science, but it could be the child of one of his brothers. Who was he to take away their chance at parenthood? But she was his. Was it fair to him to watch her bear the child of another man? "If it's one of the others, I'll leave it up to you."

"No, I need to know your opinion. I'm not going to keep a child you won't love." Emily was frantic, but trying to calm down. Her eyes searched his desperately.

Taking her back into his arms, he held her close. "I'll love anything ya bring into this world. I don't care if it's a turtle or a human or somethin' like us." They sat there for several minutes, Emily curling up in his side while he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"We need to tell the others." She whispered, breaking the silence.

Slowly, tentatively, they walked back down the stairs, hand in hand. The others watched them nervously. The fact Emily had gotten a phone call from Doctor Perry left them unsettled. "Everything okay?" Leo asked, reading the nervous expressions off their faces.

Emily shook her head. "We have news. And I need all of you to tell me your honest opinions." She and Raph sat down on the couch, holding onto each other's arms tightly. "Guys," she took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant." She no more than whispered.

"Congratulations!" Casey shouted without hesitation.

Mikey almost joined him, but Leo raised a hand to silence them. "Is it yours?" he pointed between the two of them. "Or is it from the scientists?"

Emily tried to respond but her voice failed her, coming out as a single pitch. Raph held her closer and spoke instead. "We don't know. Perry pegged her between two and four weeks along. That makes it possibly ours. It also makes it possibly theirs. We won't know until she's at least nine weeks in."

Leo and Don nodded simultaneously. "What are you going to do about it?" Leo asked.

Raph continued to speak for them both. "The problem is we realized the kid could be one of yours."

This caught them all off guard. "Wait, what?" Mikey squeaked. "I didn't sleep with your girl, Raph, I…"

"They have our DNA." Don snipped, rubbing his forehead. "They have DNA from all of us. It's possible they implanted her with haploid DNA from any one of us. If Raph's was too degraded, they could have used Leo's, so and so forth for you and me, Mikey."

Emily found her voice again. "If it's one of their experiments, I was going to give it up, but each of you has a claim to it if it turns out to be yours."

Don shook his head. "If it's my child, I'm passing it to you two. I love you, Em, and if you want to keep it or not, it's your baby and I won't love you any less."

Leo nodded. "If it's mine, I'll pass it to you. It's your body, your choice."

"I don't ever want to be more than an uncle. If it's mine, it's Raph's." Mikey added on cheerily.

Emily smiled calmly. "Thank you." She whispered. "I know I'm young, we're all young. But if it's one of ours, I think we can handle it as a family. As an eight person family. If it's one of ours, I will most likely keep it. I can't make any promises. But I love you all. And whether it's actually Raph's, or even if it's Mikey's, I think I can speak for the both of us that it's going to be a happy baby."

Splinter came down the hallway from his room. "And no matter the outcome," He murmured. "You will be a member of this family. You will be my daughter, their sister."

"Except for me." Raph added, nuzzling into her neck. "She's definitely not my sister."

Splinter laughed softly. "Even more than that, Raphael. She is the woman carrying your child. You love her like I saw my master love his fiancé. Protect her." His stoicism left the others in silence as he returned to his room, most likely to meditate.

Everything changed for Emily. She didn't feel pregnant, but at the same time, she felt different. Her hand usually came to rest on her abdomen without thinking about it. She was worried about the captivity having hurt the baby if it had been conceived from her and Raph's relationship. She was careful when exercising, and the boys refused to spar with her. She wouldn't have wanted to even if they were willing. She felt like she could be carrying the brothers' chance for normal lives, to be a father and uncles.

Doctor Perry did send Don the rest of the blood panel, and other than symptoms of the pregnancy, she was normal. After more tests on her blood, he was still unable to determine which week she was falling under. This hormonal ambiguity pointed more and more to one of the brothers being the father, making them all extremely excited. Being conservative, Doctor Perry told her they would wait until she was nine weeks pregnancy by the latest guess.

That means she had seven weeks to contemplate her fate as a woman. To be a mother, or a woman who had given up her unborn baby? Seven weeks to try and live a normal life. She found a website with a pregnancy tracker by week and she loved to look at the illustrations showing her what the embryo looked like. She also loved to read about what was developing in her child inside her. This of course assumed the child was human like, but it was still comforting to know what was going on. The brothers were just as enthused, having her read it aloud to them. Raph's hand also tended to rest on her abdomen; his thumb gently stroking circles overtop her jeans.

She waited a week and started leading training classes at Mr. Potter's gym. He was overjoyed when he heard the news and understood her dilemma. The only member of her family left out of the loop was her father, who she had not seen or talked to in months. If it wasn't for the scars all over her body, she would never think about him.

As she got farther along, the continuous routines of vitamins and balanced diet and careful exercise were wearing on her. She was slowly gaining her weight back, but had yet to break ninety-five. As she approached closer and closer to the paternity test, her body began to change with the pregnancy. Much to Raph's delight, she surpassed an A cup for the first time in her life. His delight was in a look but don't touch prison. With her continued physical training, she was sore and tender all over. Raph could barely touch her without her wincing.

The day before her paternity test, she was anxious. She had no idea how something the size of an olive could rule her so completely. She could barely sit still and was constantly fidgeting with something. Her hair, Raph's hands, her clothes, the couch cushions. Raph was heading out to get pizza around seven, so Emily took the chance to take a shower. She let the hot water relax her tired and sore muscles, his hand cradling her abdomen as she took a few deep breaths. Tomorrow she would go with the brothers for DNA testing of the baby, herself, and all four brothers. If it didn't match her and one of the brothers, she was meeting up with Doctor Perry as soon as she found out for an abortion. She was not going to raise and love something that stemmed from outside her family.

She rubbed in her shampoo and let the smell of floral and citrus fill her nostrils. Relaxing, she started to wash the soap out when a sharp stab hit her lower abdomen, worse than she felt on her cycle or a hit during a fight. It hurt even worse than the two together. It lasted only a second, but it took the breath from her lungs. Gripping her hands into fists, she shut off the water and grabbed a towel. As she stepped out of the bath tub, she heard a light _plop_ onto the concrete floor. Looking down, there was small drop of blood. Panic her like a freight train, stealing her breath and her calm. Emily grabbed her towel and ran into the hallway, her pain growing sharper, radiating in reverse to her back. "Raph!" She called out, barely having the voice to speak.

Don, the only brother still at the lair, ran out of the lab. "Emily, what's wrong?"

Emily's mind was clouding with panic and her knees began to shake. "Where's Raph?" She could barely whisper.

Don, ran to her, barely catching her before she fell to the floor, her eyes dancing wildly around the lair. He carried her down to the lab, setting her on the cot. Stepping back and raising his hand to turn on his ear piece and call Raph, he saw the crimson running down the inside of her leg. "Raph," his voice was grave. "Get back here, now. Something's wrong with Emily. I'm calling Perry."

Emily was disorientated when Raph into the lab. Gripping his hand tightly, she told the two of them what she was feeling, which Don relayed to Doctor Perry over the phone. He was on his way and was bringing some equipment to attempt to diagnose the problem. While bleeding and cramps were frequent in normal pregnancies, they all knew there was probably nothing normal about this pregnancy.

Doctor Perry kept Don on the phone the entire commute, keeping him up to date on her status. A few minutes into the episode, Emily calmed. "The pain is going away." She whispered.

Don nodded, relaying the information but stopping midsentence. Down Emily's leg, accompanied by the blood, was a thin strip of what resembled an attempted blood clot. In preparation for something like this, Don had read up on the signs and symptoms of a miscarriage. Emily was displaying almost every single one.

By time Doctor Perry arrived, escorted in by Leo, who had been nervously pacing outside the lab, Emily was in excruciating pain again, gripping Raph's hand until her knuckles were white. Her eyes refused to focus on anything and she was almost unable to speak. Not known for his bedside manner, Doctor Perry jumped straight into diagnosis. With Don's description of blood with tissue and oscillations of pain and peace, he too feared a miscarriage. Attempting to rule that out, he began to ultrasound, staring at the screen. After a few seconds, he froze, his shoulders slumping in.

"Doc?" Raph asked, nervously.

Doctor Perry shook his head slowly. "Emily is in the middle of a complete spontaneous abortion. The embryo has already emptied out of the uterus. It's gone. I'm sorry, Raphael."

He nodded, his caramel eyes pained. "Is there anythin' you can do to help with the pain?"

Doctor Perry took out a syringe, carefully injecting it into Emily's arm. "This is a sedative. It will help with the pain and the anxiety. If the pain doesn't pass in a few hours, call me again." Looking up, he gently patted Raph on the arm. "I am sorry. I know what this meant for you all."

Raph pulled up the side of his mouth into a small smile. "Thanks, Doc. I guess the bright side is she doesn't have to know if it was from one of them."

Emily was returning to normal, her breathing slowing and her eye motions becoming more controlled. "You're sure it's gone?" she whispered.

He sighed, nodding. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the pregnancy has been terminated."

Emily took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Raph, I wanna go upstairs, back in the shower."

He nodded, kissing her forehead and helping her wrap back up in the towel. She had no problems exposing herself in front of her lover and the medical minds of Don and Doctor Perry, but the fatherly Splinter and the immature Mikey were a different matter. She knew Mikey would make a joke to try and cheer her up, but she did not want jokes right now. He carefully led her up the stairs, minutely shaking his head to his older brother. The motion was enough for Leo's face to fall. He knew what it meant.

Going back into the shower, she sat down under the water while Raph sat on the ground beside her, holding her hand and gently rubbing her back. "Hey, hon, it's okay. It wasn't anythin' you could help."

Emily nodded, scrubbing her skin to get rid of the red track marks on her legs. "I know. But that child could have been our chance to be normal." She had to close her eyes and stop talking to prevent a flood of tears.

Raph reached up to gently stroke her cheek with his thumb. "We don't need a child to be normal. I got you, so do the others. You and I can still have a normal life. We all can. We just have a few little changes."

Opening her red rimmed eyes, she nodded, leaning against his hand. She was amazed Raph was this calm, this caring. She hadn't believed Leo and Casey's words of praise for changing him, but now she saw it. He still had his temper, but his fuse had been lengthened dramatically.

"Alright, Raph." She whispered, turning off the water and stepping out into Raph's arms as he held up the towel. "I like the sound of that."

Curling into his side, she dressed in her night clothes and fell asleep beside him, the affect of the sedatives.

"Love you." Raph whispered, kissing her cheek and brushing her bangs out of her face. He quickly walked back downstairs where he heard Don still talking to Doctor Perry.

He was going to find out whose child that was—whose child that had been.


	16. Chapter 16

Emily was distant for a few days, but quickly returned to her normal self. She also subscribed to Raph's bright side that she didn't have to know if the baby was some twisted experiment from the Foot. As far as she was concerned, it was just from her and Raph's relationship and had miscarried because humans and turtles have different chromosomal counts.

She continued training at the gym; she even scheduled a fight a few weeks down the road. She even went as far as to talk Leo and Splinter to let her back out with the brothers.

She and Raph were on the road to a peaceful relationship. They shared a bed, but hadn't returned to their past intimacy since she had returned from captivity. Emily planned to change that, setting up candles in their room and waiting on the bed for him to come in. Hours ticked by, and no Raph. Several hours after his usual return to bed, she got dressed and cautiously walked down to the living room. She already knew Mikey and Don were asleep, they had gone up to bed the same time she had. She heard the sounds of a heavy bag in the dojo, and hoped to see Leo and Raph working out, having forgotten the time. She walked in and saw only Leo; sweat trickling down his brow as he mercilessly pummeled a heavy bag.

Emily smiled, Leo had become like a brother to her, the quiet supporter who was always there to lend a helping hand. "Leo," she called out to get his attention. "Have you seen Raph?"

Leo stopped his workout, looking over at Emily, a warm smile on his face. She was his little sister now, his to protect and love. "Not for awhile. I thought he went up to bed with you?" He was the most open about the two having a relationship. He supported his brother in being happy with Emily, and it gave him hope all the brothers could assimilate.

She shook her head, biting her lip. "Did he have any plans or errands to run? Maybe for Splinter?"

Leo thought for a few seconds. "Still no idea. I'm sorry, Em."

With a nod, she walked into the living and sat on the couch, nervously twitching until the clock in the kitchen ticked itself to 4 a.m. Worried, but trusting Raph to at least be with Casey, she walked back upstairs and drifted off to sleep in a cold and lonely bed.

Stretching gently, Emily woke up a few hours later next to Raph, his right arm wrapped around her shoulders and underneath her neck. She didn't remember him coming into the room or shifting her sleeping position. Without waking Raph, she crawled out of bed and dressed to work out early with Leo. They were usually the only two awake before ten in the morning.

Raph was disgruntled throughout the entire day, tired and grumpy. He spoke little to anyone, even Emily. Finally, after dinner, Emily managed to sit down with him for a time alone, cleaning dishes in the kitchen.

"Raph, are you alright? Where were you last night?" she asked gently, wrapping her fingers around his. She had learned becoming argumentative with him only shut him down.

He nodded, holding her gently around the waist from behind. "I was out with Case. Probably goin' to be out for a couple more nights. He's gotta hunch and I'm helpin' him look around."

Emily held him close for a second before releasing him. Part of her doubted that Raph was telling her everything, but after the pregnancy, the miscarriage, and all they had gone through, she trusted Raph with her life. If he wasn't telling her everything, it was for a reason.

After a week of Raph not coming back until dawn, Emily was getting suspicious. He always claimed to have been helping Casey, so she decided to investigate. One night, just before dinner, Emily snagged Casey away from the group, pulling him into the hallway.

"Where have you two been every night?" she asked him, annoyance seeping into her tired voice.

"What are you talkin' 'bout, Em?" he laughed.

Emily froze. "You and Raph, he said he had been out with you helping you with a hunch. He's been out until dawn all week."

"Not with me, Em." Casey was quiet, understanding what Emily was feeling. Raph was moonlighting again. Last time he went out on his own, as Nightwatcher, he almost got himself killed.

They agreed not to talk about it, to keep it between themselves. They both feared for Raph's safety. He was Casey's best friend and Emily's boyfriend. It felt alien for Emily to even think that in her own head. After all they had done and all they had been through, boyfriend didn't seem like the right word.

After another week of Raph sneaking into their bed just before dawn, Emily was beyond worried. On the way to the gym, she pulled out her small flip phone and dialed one of only four numbers in the contacts list.

Three harsh rings before the call connected. "Hello?" a tired gruff voice spoke into the phone.

"Case? It's Em. I need a favor." Emily spoke with hesitation.

"Anything." He responded with no hesitation.

Emily nodded with a smile, even though she knew Casey couldn't see her. "I'm worried about Raph. It's been Weeks since he went to bed without sneaking out. Please, talk to him." The door to the gym came into view as she waited for Casey's response.

"Sure, doll. I'll talk to him tonight while you're at the gym." Casey disconnected the call at his end and left Emily in silence.

It was a long class, Emily constantly looked up to the clock, waiting for the two hours to be over. Finally, she was free to walk back to the lair, to see Raph, and to meet with Casey about what he learned from Raph.

The lair was empty except for Casey when Emily arrived. His black hair was hanging in shaggy strands around his face, which was cemented in worry. "Raph bolted when I started talkin' to him." He sighed glumly, not wanting to look up at Emily.

She plopped down on the couch next to him. "What did you find out?" she asked quietly, watching the door, waiting for someone, preferably Raph, to come in.

Casey shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "He got the paternity test done after all. And it wasn't him or any of the guys. It was a normal guy, and he had a rap sheet, so Raph got a name. He's tryin' to find him, Emily. Raph's tryin' to find the guy that did that to you."

Emily was in shock, just sitting on the couch next to Casey. Her hand absentmindedly came to rest on her abdomen, even though she knew it was empty. "He's gonna kill him." Her voice came out as a whisper.

"I think so." Casey mumbled back.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, simply looking at each other on the couch. "We have to stop him." Emily's voice gained strength with her certainty.

"Ya know he ain't gonna stop, Em. The best we can do is help him. Ya know three, or, better yet, seven people have better odds than one." Casey was quiet because he knew his opinions weren't going to go over well with Emily.

Sure enough, she shook her head at him as she stood from the couch, Casey following her to his feet. "I'm going to go stop him. I won't let him have blood on his hands because of me." She left Casey alone in the lair as she walked out the hidden door, heading to where she knew Raph would be.

The roof top of 5th and Madison found her quickly. Sure enough, hunched over while he sat on the low wall, was Raph. His eyes looked up quickly when he head Emily on the fire escape. "Hey, Em." He murmured quietly, straightening up to look at her.

Emily walked to him quickly, her hands enveloped by his as she got within reach. For a few seconds, they just looked at each other. "Raph, Casey told me about your plans." Her voice was quiet and apprehensive, a stark difference to her usual pride.

Raph only nodded, pulling Emily close. She sat on his right thigh and curled against his shoulder, his arms coming to wrap around her. "I know who…who…did that to ya, Em. I can't just let him get away with that." His voice was hard and quiet. There was no anger, only resolution.

"But I won't let you kill someone because of me." Emily pleaded quietly, finding and squeezing one of his hands.

The anger began to bubble beneath his skin as he tensed around her. "He will be in the ground tonight, Emily. Ya can't change my mind." Emily opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Raph. "But while yer up here, I gotta ask ya somethin'. The last time we were up here, I said some things that I'm startin' to see were wrong." Before Emily could jump to the wrong conclusion, he kept talking. "I remember I said I couldn't give ya a life or anythin' like that. I was talkin' with the others, and I was wrong. I can give ya one thing I didn't think I could."

He found her left hand as he pulled a small piece of twine out of a pouch on his belt. Emily watched silently as he gracefully tied a small bow around her ring finger, his fingers tracing lightly over hers.

"Case said he'd get the license online if you want to make it official, but I'm gonna leave that up to you." His chuckle filled the small gap as he took a deep breath. "Emily Maria Fredricks, I was hopin' you'd be willin' to marry me someday." His caramel eyes shyly found hers.

Emily's smile was small but telling. The small, asymmetric tug of her lips was a direct translation for Raph to see her happiness. "Yes." She murmured.

Neither one was ever prone to extreme displays of emotion, beyond physical passion, but their kiss was slow, long, sweet, and tender. Emily gently coaxed Raph off the roof and back to the lair. She was ecstatic to the point she forgot about his refusal to surrender his revenge. Raph was excited to have asked, but he saw his path clear for that night.

There were celebrations galore when they returned. Raph discovered that even turtles could blush as he was hounded with comments, congratulations, and suggestions from their informal family. Emily's cheeks were crimson, a harsh contrast to her blue eyes and black hair. A few six packs were emptied, a few pizzas were killed. April and Emily left the boys for nearly an hour to gossip about April's hopes of a proposal from Casey.

As soon as Emily left his side, the euphoria began to fade away from Raph. His mind began to play his plan for the night over and over, rehearsing every detail he had been developing for weeks.

Later than usual, everyone bid each other good night. Emily's plans to rekindle their passion were finally fulfilled. It had a different depth than before. The little twine tied around her finger had lifted her heart and her hopes for their relationship and their feelings for each other.

Raph lay awake as Emily's eyes began to lazily flutter with satisfaction and sleep. A few minutes later, the blue orbs were covered completely and her breathing had slowed to a deep and rhythmic pattern. Slowly and gently, Raph pulled himself out from underneath her sleeping body, leaving Emily alone in the bed. He dressed silently and sheathed his sais as he pulled open the door and crept down the stairs and out of the lair.

Emily awoke with a shiver, her body cold in the subterranean room. This was odd for her, because Raph's body usually kept her warm under the thin sheet. But Raph's body was gone.

She bolted out of the bed to find her close, dressing quickly. She knew that Raph had gone to kill the man. She knew that Raph had gone to get revenge for her.

Downstairs in Don's lab was a modified tracking system. Don had recently installed trackers in everyone's belts, so that they could be located if something happened to any of them what happened to Emily. She grabbed the hand-held device and raced out of the lair. The dot was a bright green on the screen, several miles away. She could get there quickly, she knew that. She just hoped it was fast enough to stop Raph.

Her lung burned and her legs ached when she reached the roof top. She opened her mouth to call out to Raph, but there was no air for her to use. Besides, she realized, he wasn't there. The tracking device said she must be close to him, but she did not see him. Looking around in pure panic, her black hair whipping in front of her face and sticking to her sweat covered forehead, Emily searched for Raph.

Over to the right, there was an open window into an apartment. Emily slid in silently, wishing she had grabbed her knives before sprinting from the lair.

Her eyes began to adjust to the darkness as she crept around the shabbily furnished apartment. A slight squeak snapped her head to the side. Under a door farther ahead of her, light seeped out and washed over the old floorboards. Emily silently approached and pressed her ear to the door.

"Why don't you just kill me now, you monster?" a man's voice laughed quietly from within.

More squeaks. Someone was walking back and forth on the floor. "'Cause I wanna make you suffer, like ya made her suffer, like ya made _us_ suffer." Raph's voice was a terrifyingly dark growl.

"The little whore enjoyed it, you know? She probably told you she doesn't even know it happened, but she knows. Trust me. She asked me to because she was sick of being touched by _you_." The man was taunting Raph, like he didn't know the danger he was putting himself in.

Emily heard Raph's wordless growl and heard the slide as he pulled his sais from the leather sheath. "Yer gonna wish you never laid eyes on her, ya little…"

She threw open the door, blinding herself in the sudden harsh light. Raph stood to the right, one of his sais drawn and at the ready. She had thought the man would be tied down or otherwise restrained, but he was leaning against a dresser to her left. As she orientated herself in the room, Raph reached out to her. Quickly, her unfocused eyes darted to the other man, who had pulled a small handgun from the dresser and was pointing it at her.

Emily had never felt so small and defenseless. She was a small, tired, unarmed woman staring at a tall, muscular, and armed man. She knew Raph was behind her, his weapons at the ready, but the whole world became her and the gun trained at her chest.

The floor creaked behind her. The man's eyes moved to look over her shoulder.

Raph lunged out of her peripheral vision and the man pulled the trigger.

**AN: It's finally done! **

**This had been a several year, several thousand word project, and I can only thank all of you readers that have stuck with me from the beginning or whenever you jumped in on this controlled chaos. **

**Remember that "sequel"? The votes are in and you will either be happy or unhappy to know that you all voted to keep Emily. The first chap will be uploaded as it's on story as well as attached to this, so don't get rid of your alerts for this just yet. **

**Again, I can't thank you guys enough for all your support and all your patience. **

**I hope you guys have enjoyed my final installment of Underdog!**

**-CM**


	17. Chapter 1 of The Logic Puzzle

**Author's note: This is CM, the author of this fantastical little story, but not the owner of anything TMNT. The only thing I lay claim to is Emily Fredricks. **

**Well….enjoy!**

There was something beautiful about the light of a streetlamp fading into the night sky above Manhattan. It was beautiful enough to intrigue and to inspire. It was beautiful enough to make her want to paint it every night.

It also helped that it sold for nearly a thousand dollars a pop.

The nights were just beginning to chill as she sat out on her roof, a slender paintbrush held delicately in her equally slender hand. She saw cross legged on a bench, her jeans a light stony wash, her sweater a plush violet. Her strawberry blonde hair was twisted up at the nape of her neck, pulled away from her pale, heart shaped face. Her hazel eyes danced all over the canvas in front of her, looking for anything she missed from the view in front of her. She heard a few rustles to her right.

The rooftops were usually silent at that time of night, so she glanced to her right to investigate.

Shadows moved against the dark rooftops around her, but she paid no mind. Probably a bird or a cat. She turned back to the painting when she heard a thud behind her. She turned quickly and saw that the shadows were in fact people running around in black pajamas with red sashes and black masks.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice rising in shock.

The pajama men did not respond as they rushed around her rooftop. Her painting was knocked over behind her as she watched them scurry around silently.

"Get back here, you little cowards!" a hearty male voice called from a rooftop in the distance. The pajama men reacted frantically, drawing weapons out of the folds of their clothes.

She searched for the voice, looking into the darkness behind her rooftop. She could see and hear nothing, but the men around her must have seen something she didn't, because they began to panic even more. One of them grabbed her from behind, one strong arm snaking around her waist while the other pressed a knife to her throat.

When all the pajama men had drawn their weapons, they stood still. Out of the shadows, she saw four figures approaching. Large and well built men with packs on their backs ran over the roofs, metal glinting in a few of their hands.

"Help!" she cried. She didn't know who was approaching, but they seemed to be a better alternative than the pajama men.

The approaching men slowed down slightly as they entered into the lights of her roof.

They were not the men she had predicted. They were tall and muscular, though. But they were green and the packs she had seen on their backs were shells. The four figures slowly spreading out across her rooftop were giant humanoid turtles.

In her shock, her brain automatically began to think like an artist, picking up every minute detail. Each of the things had a colored bandana tied around its face. The farthest to the left was the smallest, standing a few inches shorter than the others, and was clothed in orange. Hanging from his hands were a pair of polished wooden nunchukus. She had seen enough movies to identify them. The next to the right was slightly taller and the thinnest of the group. There was a purple cloth across its face and a long staff in its hands. The next was nearly the same height but better muscled. It carried two swords and wore blue across its face. The farthest to the right was the bulkiest of the group and had the darkest skin. Its face was covered by a red bandana and it carried two sais.

She was more terrified of them than the pajama men.

"Let her go." The blue bandana one spoke calmly to the pajama men.

The man holding her tightened his grip on her. She felt the cool of the metal bite into her neck, causing her to cry out a little in pain. The one with the purple bandana twitched towards her, but remained in its place. "She is an insurance policy for us. Now, return to us the package." A pajama man to her right called back out to the turtle-human things.

The blue bandana shook his head before he nodded to the three around him. They began to slowly inch forward, their weapons at the ready. The purple bandana one came towards her and her holder. "Let her go." It repeated. Its voice was softer than the blue bandana.

The knife was dug deeper in her skin and she felt her knees begin to shake and give out. The staff was thrust out faster than she thought possible and struck the man holding her. He let go of her, but the knife drug across her neck.

In shock, fear, and pain, she collapsed to the ground. The purple bandana's arms stopped her journey early, though, and held her against the warm hardness of its chest. She could feel the blood dripping and rolling down her neck, but she didn't have the sense of mind to reach her hand up to stop the bleeding.

Looking up at her catcher, she saw it had milk chocolate eyes, a defined eye ridge, scrunched together in worry, a strong turtle-like jaw, and a few freckle like spots on one cheek. "What are you?" she asked un-bashfully, beginning to feel lightheaded.

It chuckled slightly, pressing its cool hand to her neck, trying to staunch the bleeding. "That's a tad bit heard to explain. Suffice to say, my name is Don. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I'm here to help. My brothers will take care of the rest of the Foot. You'll be safe. Is this your apartment here, the one with the window?"

"Yeah." Her eyelids began to flutter as it picked her up and gently brought her into the window. It looked like there were now two green things above her as she felt her head hit the softness of her pillow. Just before she let her eyes close, she felt the cool, three fingered hands tending to her neck.

She heard quiet, masculine talking around her as her eyes began to strain themselves to open. She recognized the one closest to her head. It came flooding back to her what exactly had happened with the pajama men and the giant turtle men. Apprehension forced her to keep her eyes shut and just listen.

"She could be another Emily." An excited voice chirped from the corner. A pained grunt came from the other corner. "Okay, how about another April?"

"That's better, Mikey." The familiar, closer voice sighed. "She could also freak and go running to the tabloids. I'm sorry I took the risk."

A sigh from nearby. "Any of us would have done the same. We've had a good track record about exposing ourselves to the humans. Besides, we're supposed to be protecting this city, not letting women die at the hands of the Foot."

She finally worked up the nerve to open her eyes. Sure enough, the giant turtle things were standing around her bed. The purple bandana—Don, she remembered—sat just to her right. The blue bandana stood behind him. The orange bandana leaned against the wall to the right while the red bandana leaned against the wall to the left.

"She's awake." Don spoke to the others.

The blue bandana stepped around Don and smiled down at her. "Miss, my name is Leo. Are you feeling alright?"

She tried to nod, but that was painful for her neck. With a delicate cough, she prepared her voice to speak. "I think so. Thank you." Her voice was shaky with strain and apprehension.

Don cleared his throat slightly. "I put a bandage on your neck after it stopped bleeding. It should be fine and I doubt it will scar as long as you take care of it, miss."

"Kait." She said bravely. Don, Leo and the other two nodded slightly.

The red bandana stepped slightly away from the wall. "They aren't gonna leave her alone, Leo. They're gettin' desperate. After Em," his voice broke almost imperceptibly. "They've been tryin' to get any advantage they can. They know we'll try 'n protect her."

Leo's head sunk slightly. "Raph, I have to say that you're right." With a deep breath, he turned to look down at Kait. "Those men that tried to use you to protect against us, they are a clan of ninjas called the Foot. We have been fighting them for as long as we can remember. Lately, they've been trying to hit us closer to home. Because they might try to use you against us, at least for the mean time, one of us will be nearby every night. This is for your own protection, Kait."

In any other situation, she wouldn't have believed a word he was saying. But because it came out of a giant turtle's mouth, she decided he was probably telling the truth. "I understand." Her eyes travelled around the four turtle men standing in her room. She was apprehensive, but deep down she knew if they had wanted to hurt her, they had plenty of opportunities to, and they hadn't done anything to even try and hurt or scare her.

Leo nodded and started walking towards the window Don had brought her inside through. The Raph and the orange bandana, who Kait assumed was Mikey, followed. Don looked down at Kait with a mask of nervousness over his face. "Kait, as you can tell, we don't quite fit in around here. And we're trying to keep ourselves off the human radar. I know you don't really have a reason to trust us, but we are putting our trust in you to not tell anyone about us. Please."

Kait worked up a small smile for her savior. "Of course. I doubt anyone would believe me anyways. They'd probably think I was using too much turpentine."

Don scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion as he too left her apartment through the window, sliding it shut behind him.

In her now empty room in her empty apartment, the gravity of what happened finally hit Kait and she began to cry quietly.

**AN: Welcome back to the twisting, turning, gut wrenching, heartfelt story of the Hamato family! Since this is the sequel to Underdog, and since the vote during that story wanted to keep Emily, she is still in this story. Some of you may just be a little mad at me about how she's in it…..**

**In the meantime, comments are appreciated so I can make this story better.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-CM**


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